Despite winning their first ever match at a European Championship against North Macedonia on Sunday, Austria manager Franco Foda would have had plenty to ponder in terms of his team selection for Thursday's clash with the Netherlands prior to Marco Arnautovic's one-match ban from UEFA for "insulting another player".

Indeed, Das Team were less than convincing for large spells of their 3-1 victory against the lowest-ranked side at Euro 2020, with Michael Gregoritsch and Arnautovic's second-half introductions turning the match in their favour.

Both strikers got themselves on the scoresheet with less than 15 minutes remaining to earn a crucial victory for their side, which would have provided their manager with a serious headache prior to Wednesday's news of the former West Ham United and Stoke City forward's suspension.

Arnautovic's demonstrative celebration implied that he was unhappy with being named among the substitutes, but ultimately it has cost him a place in the squad altogether against Netherlands.

His manager had suggested in his post-match press conference on Sunday that leaving Arnautovic on the bench was predominantly due to the forward's recent muscle injury, with the Shanghai Port man set to come into the side for the rest of the tournament.

"When Marko [Arnautovic] is in top shape, he always plays for me from the start," Foda revealed in his post-match press conference.

"But you always have to be careful after a muscle injury. Marko is a very important part of our team and it is quite possible that he will play against Holland from the start."

Hoffenheim forward Christoph Baumgartner will be relieved, then, as Arnautovic's suspension means that he should receive another opportunity from the start after a quiet 58 minutes against North Macedonia.

6ft 7in Sasa Kalajdzic and 6ft 4in Gregoritsch may compete to lead the line, with the former perhaps handed another chance after enjoying a sensational season at Stuttgart as well as making a decent overall start to his international career.

Otherwise, Foda may see no reason to change personnel, with David Alaba nominally starting from the middle of a back three.

However, do not expect to see the Real Madrid defender there too often if Austria are chasing the game at any stage, as was the case for his brilliant left-wing cross for Gregoritsch's strike against North Macedonia.

Austria possible starting lineup:
Bachmann; Dragovic, Alaba, Hinteregger; Lainer, Laimer, Schlager, Sabitzer, Ulmer; Baumgartner, Kalajdzic

> Click here to see how Netherlands could line up for this clash

Written by
Brett Curtis