Germany vs Austria
With the Champions League now over, the focus now turns to European Championship Qualifying. In a Group A clash, Germany will take on Austria as the favorite on Friday and will be close to securing their place with a win.
It's been a tough start for the Austrians in the group, as they've won two, lost two and drawn one through their first five encounters. However they have been defeated in their last two games 2-0 in qualifying.
Granted the competition lately has been tough. Turkey and Belgium are two rising European powerhouses full of young talent and have made any chance of moving on tough for Austria at this point.
In Group A, the Austrians now sit fourth out of six teams, with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan the only two squads behind them.
With Turkey, Belgium and upcoming opponent Germany alongside the Austrians in their group, the wins have to start coming now.
What a monumental task that will be, considering the Germans have been absolutely dominating the competition so far in qualifying.
They have a perfect 5-0 record and are now five points clear at the top of their group (like Group G topping England who face Switzerland). Through five games, Germany has scored 17 times while only allowing one goal. Amazing stuff!
The Germans have been active in international friendlies as well, having beaten Uruguay 2-1 on May 29. Scorers were Mario Gomez and Andre Schurrie as coach Joachim Low tested some lesser-used players out.
Germany simply too good for Austria
It should come as little surprise that Germany is the clear favorite in the soccer odds. Bodog has installed the team at -275 to grab the victory.
Austria is the overwhelming underdog at +650 odds to score a shock win. A draw would also be a surprise result, priced at +350 to cash at the soccer betting window.
Even though the Germans are flying high in their group, do not expect them to give anything less than a top-notch effort in Friday's game in Austria.
That spells trouble for Dietmar Constantini's side given the sheer quality that Germany possesses throughout its entire squad.
From top to bottom, Germany has tremendous talent, starting with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. He was in great form for Schalke during the season and has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich among others.
Then we've got Bastian Scweinsteiger, Philip Lahm and Real Madrid stars Sami Khedira and Mesut Ozil. Oh, why not throw Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and Thomas Muller in the mix as well?
Armed with a great mix of young talent and experienced contributors, these Germans will continue to pile up the victories for years to come.
Marc Janko meanwhile is the captain and the one to watch for Austria. The FC Twente striker had a brilliant season domestically, scoring a total of 14 goals in 29 appearances during the 2010/11 campaign.
Ranked 73rd in the world, the Austrians are however just not at the same level as the formidable Germans and it'd be a big shock if they can even get a point out of Wednesday's game.
FREE Pick: Austria 1 Germany 3
Source:
Euro 2012 Qualifier - Germany VS Austria | 2nd half highlights
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | PTS |
| Germany | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 3 | 21 |
| Belgium | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 11 |
| Turkey | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 10 |
| Austria | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
| Azerbaijan | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 3 |
| Kazakhstan | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 15 | 3 |
Euro 2012 Qualifying Group A Fixtures
Qualifying fixture dates may be subject to change
| 3/9/10 | Belgium | 0 v 1 | Germany |
| Klose 51 | |||
| 3/9/10 | Kazakhstan | 0 v 3 | Turkey |
| Turan 24, Altintop 26, Kahveci 76 | ||
| 7/9/10 | Austria | 2 v 0 | Kazakhstan |
| Linz 90+, Hoffer 90++ | |||
| 7/9/10 | Germany | 6 v 1 | Azerbaijan |
| Westermann 28, Podolski 45+, Klose 45++, 90+, RF Sadygov (o.g) 53, Badstuber 86 | Dzhavadov 57 | ||
| 7/9/10 | Turkey | 3 v 2 | Belgium |
| Altintop 48, Senturk 66, Turan 78 | Van Buyten 28, 69 | ||
| 8/10/10 | Austria | 3 v 0 | Azerbaijan |
| Prodl 3, Arnautovic 53, 90+ | |||
| 8/10/10 | Germany | 3 v 0 | Turkey |
| Klose 42, 87, Ozil 79 | |||
| 8/10/10 | Kazakhstan | 0 v 2 | Belgium |
| Ogunjimi 52, 70 | |||
| 12/10/10 | Belgium | 4 v 4 | Austria |
| Vossen 11, Fellaini 47, Ogunjimi 87, Lombaerts 90 | Schiemer 14, 62, Arnautovic 29, Harnik 90+ | ||
| 12/10/10 | Azerbaijan | 1 v 0 | Turkey |
| Sadygov 38 | |||
| 12/10/10 | Kazakhstan | 0 v 3 | Germany |
| Klose 48, Gomez 76, Podolski 85 | |||
| 25/3/11 | Austria | 0 v 2 | Belgium |
| Witsel 6, 50 | |||
| 26/3/11 | Germany | 4 v 0 | Kazakhstan |
| Klose 3, 88, Muller 25, 43 | |||
| 29/3/11 | Turkey | 2 v 0 | Austria |
| Turan 28, Gonul 78 | |||
| 29/3/11 | Belgium | 4 v 1 | Azerbaijan |
| Vertonghen 12, Simons 31 (pen), Chadli 45, Vossen 74 | Abbasov 16 | ||
| 3/6/11 | Austria | 1 v 2 | Germany |
| Friedrich 50 (o.g) | Gomez 44, 90 | ||
| 3/6/11 | Belgium | 1 v 1 | Turkey |
| Ogunjimi 4 | Yilmaz 22 | ||
| 3/6/11 | Kazakhstan | 2 v 1 | Azerbaijan |
| Griddin 57, 68 | Nadyrov 63 | ||
| 7/6/11 | Azerbaijan | 1 v 3 | Germany |
| Huseynov 89 | Ozil 30, Gomez 41, Schuerrle 90+ | ||
| 2/9/11 | Germany | v | Austria |
| 2/9/11 | Azerbaijan | v | Belgium |
| 2/9/11 | Turkey | v | Kazakhstan |
| 6/9/11 | Austria | v | Turkey |
| 6/9/11 | Azerbaijan | v | Kazakhstan |
| 7/10/11 | Azerbaijan | v | Austria |
| 7/10/11 | Turkey | v | Germany |
| 7/10/11 | Belgium | v | Kazakhstan |
| 11/10/11 | Kazakhstan | v | Austria |
| 11/10/11 | Germany | v | Belgium |
| 11/10/11 | Turkey | v | Azerbaijan |
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