Seen by many as dangerous dark horses at Euro 2016, Austria has an early chance to underline its credentials when it begins its Group F campaign against old rival Hungary on Tuesday.
The game will be the 138th meeting of the two nations, but their first encounter in a decade and their first competitively in more than 30 years.
Propelled by star man David Alaba, Austria was superb in qualifying and the Bayern Munich full-back, who is deployed in midfield by his country, will be the man to watch out for.
“He plays an important role in midfield, particularly because he brings a lot of experience to the table. We hope he continues to perform as well for the national team this summer as he has in qualification and throughout the season as a whole,” teammate Marko Arnautovic, of Stoke City, told UEFA.com.
Arnautovic is one of several Austrians coming into the European Championship on the back of impressive seasons in England, with Leicester City left-back Christian Fuchs and Tottenham Hotspur defender Kevin Wimmer also set to feature.
Meanwhile, Hungary, which beat Norway in a play-off to reach a major tournament for the first time since the 1986 World Cup, has no such star presence and is expected to struggle in a group also containing Portugal and Iceland.
Having finished only third in its qualifying group behind Northern Ireland and Romania, Hungary is one of the countries to have benefited from UEFA’s expansion of the finals to 24 teams.
