October 27: Austria vs Serbia, American Football Zentrum, Salzburg, kickoff 1pm CET

Reigning European champions Austria will clinch the number one playoff seed if they defeat a Serbian team that dramatically lost in overtime at home to Hungary last week. A defeat for the Serbs will mean they finish third in the group behind Hungary (1-1).

An added incentive for Austria is that victory will set up a long-awaited clash with Germany in the semifinals after their traditional rival beat Sweden 42-6 on Saturday to advance to the knockout stages.

"We're now focusing on this game against Serbia, we really want to bring our best football to the pitch," says wide receiver Yannick Mayr. "Who will be our opponent after that will be decided at the weekend. Of course, I have a lot of contacts in Germany and there was already a heated discussion about who had the better squad and how the game would end."

Already dominant having opened with a 58-3 win over Hungary, Austria debuts at the state-of-the-art facility for American Football home of the Salzburg Ducks boosted by the return of one of its most celebrated players, former New York Giants practice squad running back Sandro Platzgummer.

The one-time star of the Swarco Raiders Tirol said: “I'm looking forward to seeing familiar faces in the Austrian national team again and at the same time getting to know the next generation of talented American football players. It is a great honor to be part of this team.”

Head Coach Max Sommer added: “I’m pleased that Sandro is returning to the national team after a long break. This certainly speaks for our program, that a player of his caliber, who was under contract with the New York Giants, wants to play for Austria.”

Serbia takes on the reigning European champions – who finally claimed the continental crown last year having finished second in 2014 and 2018 – having tied Hungary with a spectacular blocked extra point returned for two points last week, only to lose in overtime.

"Our approach is very similar to the one against Hungary," added Austria coach Sommer. "These are teams with very similar playing strength. Serbia's strengths lie elsewhere than those of Hungary. But we've analyzed that well and take the opponent very seriously. No matter who is facing us, we always take it very similarly and accordingly "No Nonsense" is the motto again.

Photo: AFBOE