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Montenegro have to win for hope, Austria looking to make it into pool two

Montenegro have to beat Austria and Russia, even though that doesn't guarantee them the third place if some other results don't come out right too, while Austria already earned the European Championship, but they want two wins until the end so they can make it to the draw in the second, and not the third pool

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With a two-game winning run, Montenegro are back into the game, at least for the third place in Group G, but their problem is that they don't only depend on themselves and the fourth place seems very likely even if they beat the remaining two teams - Austria and Russia.

While Montenegro will mourn the failure in Lichtenstein (they could have been the masters of their own destiny had they won), football remains such a sport in which you can still hope while the theoretical chance still exists.

Today Montenegro are welcoming Austria which did an impressive job in the qualifications and already earned their place in the European Championship for the next year. They have seven wins and one draw (at home, against Sweden). Because of that, Austria are free of any result worries, but the question is how can that help Montenegro if they don't play their best game tonight.

- If we didn't believe that we can do something, we wouldn't even be here. Of course we believe, even though we know the situation is tough and that it doesn't only depend on us. But, the only thing left is to try to beat Austria and go to Moscow for an all-or-nothing fight - said Montenegro's manager Branko Brnovic who will probably have to head into this battle without his best forward Jovetic and stopper Basa.

- Jovetic has a big wish to play, but chances for that are very small. Still, even without him we know what our goal is and we will try to make it happen. Basa's chances of playing are somewhat bigger, but we'll decide that tonight before the match - Brnovic revealed. He doesn't believe the away team will calculate for the match.

- I don't believe Austria will hold back. How can someone say to, for instance, Alaba from Bayern, that he doesn't have to give out his maximum because the result doesn't matter? There's no talk of that, they want to continue their run and finish the qualifications undefeated - thinks the home manager who will start out with three forwards: Vucinic, Mugos and Beqira, even though running forward without thinking can be very dangerous.

- There is optimism because we're playing against Austria who already solved everything. I hope they will arrive without pressure and that they won't stress over the score. We're going after a win in both matches because if we don't win, our story is over. I don't know if this may be my last match with the national team in Podgorica, it's still early to talk about that. The only thing that matters now is a home win against Austria - said the experienced home captain Mirko Vucinic. He will be one of the important links in tonight's duel.

Austria are euphoric, and the Swiss manager Marcel Koller is the absolute hero who is praised to heavens in the Austrian media. If we take out England whose group couldn't have been easier, then Austria are surely the most convincing national team of the qualifications because they have a single draw (against Sweden), but that same Sweden they pulverized in the last duel with a 4-1 triumph, securing their road to France.

This Austrian generation are in their best football years, many even claim it's potentially the best ever, and most of the players play in the strongest leagues and they're in good shape, and except for the four injured, Koller invited the best there is for the last two matches.

That's German mentality and Montenegro can hardly expect the away team to let go, and there is concrete reason why Austria want two more wins. Currently they're 11th on FIFA's table, which is their best placement in history, but what's more important is that they can be in the second pool of the European Championship draw, which is far better than third.

In order to achieve what they want, they have to beat Montenegro and Lichtenstein. But, despite their euphoria, they still respect their hosts and don't expect and easy task.

- Ski season didn't start yet, so football will be still sport number one in Austria for some time - Austrian manager Marcel Koller shared a laugh with reporters in Podgorica, and then he underlined what the hosts don't like to hear.

- We're not relying on the fact that we made it to the European Championship. Our wish to beat Montenegro is as big as our wish to beat anyone in previous matches in the group - said Koller. He will be missing midfielders Leitgeb, Kavlak and Pehlivan, and defender Hinteregger. None of them were very important, so the announced line-up can be considered their strongest.

- In any case, Montenegro could have won more points. They had an abrupted match against Russia, while in many others they were at a draw with their opponents. Not everything is lost for the hosts, I think Montenegro still stand a chance and they will be extremely motivated to beat us. It's good for us if Jovetic won't play because his goals and passes often decide the match. I know that by my players where the main ones usually steer the match - concluded Koller.