We will be cheering on our Red Bulls as they compete in international matches in the coming days. The first of them will be in action on Thursday. We have put together an overview of who is competing for what and how to follow the games in Austria.
UEFA Nations League and African Cup qualifying
The main focus of our internationals is the start of the new UEFA Nations League. Austria are newly promoted to the A League and will compete with two other sides we have interest in - Croatia (Luka Sucic) and Denmark (Rasmus Kristensen).
New Austrian coach Ralf Rangnick has called up two of our boys for the four matches to come: Nici Seiwald and Max Wöber. The first match is on Friday 3 June at 20:45 CET against Croatia before matches against Denmark (6 and 13 June) and France (10 June).
Two further Red Bulls are in UEFA Nations League action: Noah Okafor and the Swiss national team face the Czech Republic on Thursday evening (2 June) at 20:45 CET before Portugal (5 and 12 June) along with Spain (9 June). Benjamin Sesko and Slovenia face Sweden (2 June, 20:45 CET), Serbia (5 and 12 June) and Norway (9 June).
All UEFA Nations League matches will be shown on a live stream on DAZN with Austria's matches also on TV in Austria on ORF 1.
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Our Red Bulls from Mali also have plenty of excitement ahead further south. Their national team are to start African Cup of Nations qualifying against Congo, Gambia and South Sudan. In addition to Mohamed Camara and Sekou Koita, Daouda Guindo has also been called up to the squad for the first time!
A total of six games will determine which teams will qualify for Africa's most important tournament - with the top two in each group making the 2023 Cup of Nations. Mali start their campaign on 4 June against Congo before they face South Sudan (9 June) and have a qualifier against Ecuador (11 June).
Big matches for young guns
Many of our young hopefuls have their eyes set on the 2023 European U21 championships in Romania and Georgia. The nine qualification group winners and the best second-placed finishers will secure their spot in the tournament, while the other eight second-placed sides will enter a play-off for the remaining four berths.
One Red Bull is already sure of his spot in the finals: Ignace Van der Brempt and Belgium are sure of top spot, but have one more qualifier to play on 5 June against Scotland. Maurits Kjaergaard and Denmark U21 are second. In their remaining three matches v Kazakhstan (4 June), Scotland (10 June) and Turkey (14 June) they will be seeking to make sure of this position and extend their points total.
Croatia - whose U21 Luka Sucic can still play for – are first in their group but have their opponents within range. A clash with Norway on Friday 3 June could see them seal their spot in the finals, and if they miss out then, they have one more chance against Estonia on 8 June.
Vying for top spot with Croatia are Austria U21 featuring Junior Adamu. They still have a chance, theoretically, of finishing top of the group. Qualifying as the best second-placed side is more realistic - and if that doesn't work out, there is the play-offs in September. A win is a must in the final qualifier on Friday 3 June against Finland! The match in Ried will be shown from 19:00 CET live on ORF SPORT +.
Nico Mantl is on duty for the German team. The reigning European U21 champions need two more points to ensure they qualify from first in the group. They face Hungary (3 June) and Poland (7 June). The remaining Germany games will be shown live on TV from 18:00 on SAT. 1 and on ProSieben MAXX.
