Seiwald and Adamu are the only two newcomers. “We decided to bring a breath of fresh air to the team. Both players were convincing both in the championship and internationally, ”said Foda about the 20-year-olds, who last played in the ÖFB-U21 and have Champions League experience.
Seiwald has become a regular in Salzburg this season. “He’s extremely smart, a good ball conqueror,” said Foda. “He wins a lot of balls in midfield and switches around well. He plays good balls and also has ideas in the game forward. ”Attacker Adamu also works well against the ball. He is always very present in the penalty area. “And it is so that he has depth.”
Kainz and Gregoritsch on call
There was no place in the squad, among others, Cologne legionnaire Florian Kainz and Augsburg striker Michael Gregoritsch. According to his own account, Foda had a lengthy telephone conversation with both of them. “Both are still part of our team, nothing will change that.” This time, the two Styrians, like the defensive forces nominated in October, Phillipp Mwene, Kevin Danso and Maximilian Wöber are only on the list.
Compared to the most recent games, a 2-0 mandatory win in the Faroe Islands and a 0-1 win at the flawless group winners Denmark, the regular players Aleksandar Dragovic, Christoph Baumgartner and Marko Arnautovic, who were unable to return at the time, are among those returning. Philipp Lienhart and Andreas Ulmer are also back in the squad. The most notable failures for the end of the year are Stefan Lainer, Xaver Schlager, Julian Baumgartlinger, Valentino Lazaro and Sasa Kalajdzic.
“Want to win both games”
The Austrians can at best finish third in the botched World Cup qualification, in which so far only victories against the Faroe Islands and Moldova have been achieved. In addition to being three points behind Israel in the event of a tie, the goal difference, which is six goals worse, would have to be made up for this. For the end of the year, Foda set a clear goal: “We absolutely want to win both games and get six points. We want to do everything for that. “
With five wins, two draws and seven defeats so far, you need these to achieve a balanced annual balance. Foda did not announce any major experiments. “The most important thing is always to win games. That is the top priority, ”said the German. “But we also want to play good football. That must be the job. We can only get out of this situation together, only as a unit. We have to behave and present ourselves accordingly. “
Foda feels no pressure
The next really important games are not on the program until March, when, thanks to the Nations League group win in the previous year in the play-off in two knockout games, there will be one of the three remaining European tickets for the World Cup in one year Qatar goes. “We want to go into the next year with a good feeling,” emphasized Foda. In this respect, the two upcoming internationals are also extremely important. “We want to be able to take something positive back with us,” said Foda.
His own future should not be the focus. Foda’s contract runs at least until the play-off. The new ÖFB President Gerhard Milletich only wants to decide on how to proceed after the two Klagenfurt games. Foda could also be judged by the results. “I don’t feel any particular pressure, on the contrary: We are looking forward to the course,” assured the 55-year-old. “I still have a lot of fun and joy.”
Goalkeeper question not fully resolved
The goalkeeper question has not been fully clarified. Daniel Bachmann is only a reservist at Watford. The 27-year-old had recently shown “good performances” in the ÖFB team, stressed Foda. “But it’s a new situation, he has little rhythm.” You will get an overview over the course of the training week and then decide.
The alternatives are LASK captain Alexander Schlager and FC Basel veteran Heinz Lindner. According to Foda, the fact that the 25-man squad was slightly larger than usual is due, among other things, to the increasing number of coronavirus infections. In addition, some players could play for the U21s in the European Championship qualifier against Croatia on November 16.
ÖFB squad for World Cup qualification against Israel and Moldova
Tor: Daniel Bachmann (Watford, 11 internationals), Heinz Lindner (Basel, 28), Alexander Schlager (LASK, 6)
Defense: David Alaba (Real Madrid, 90 international matches / 14 goals), Aleksandar Dragovic (Roter Stern Belgrade, 96/2), Martin Hinteregger (Eintracht Frankfurt, 64/4), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg, 7/0), Stefan Posch (Hoffenheim , 14/1), Christopher Trimmel (Union Berlin, 18/0), Andreas Ulmer (Red Bull Salzburg, 28/0)
Midfield: Christoph Baumgartner (Hoffenheim, 17/6), Yusuf Demir (Barcelona 4/0), Florian Grillitsch (Hoffenheim, 31/1), Marco Grüll (Rapid, 1/0), Stefan Ilsanker (Eintracht Frankfurt, 59/0), Konrad Laimer (Leipzig, 18/2), Dejan Ljubicic (Cologne, 1/0), Marcel Sabitzer (Bayern Munich, 56/9), Louis Schaub (Cologne, 27/6), Alessandro Schöpf (Arminia Bielefeld, 30/5 ), Nicolas Seiwald (Red Bull Salzburg, 0)
Attack: Junior Adamu (Red Bull Salzburg, 0), Marko Arnautovic (Bologna, 94/29), Ercan Kara (Rapid Vienna, 6/0), Karim Onisiwo (Mainz, 14/1)
On call: Martin Fraisl (Schalke, 0), Jörg Siebenhandl (Sturm Graz, 2), Cican Stankovic (AEK Athens, 4), Patrick Pentz (Austria Wien, 0) – Kevin Danso (Lens, 6/0), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen , 3/0), Phillipp Mwene (PSV Eindhoven, 1/0), Gernot Trauner (Feyenoord Rotterdam, 5/1), Maximilian Ullmann (Rapid Vienna, 0), Maximilian Wöber (Red Bull Salzburg, 6/0) – Patrick Greil (Austria Klagenfurt, 0), Jakob Jantscher (Sturm Graz, 23/1), Florian Kainz (Cologne, 20/0), Stefan Schwab (PAOK Saloniki, 1/0), Patrick Wimmer (Arminia Bielefeld, 0) – Adrian Grbic (Lorient, 9/4), Michael Gregoritsch (Augsburg, 33/5)
