​Austrian FA: Alaba to Travel with Team as Off-field Captain

Austria head coach Ralf Rangnick has announced his preliminary squad for the 2024 European Championship. In the final preparation phase, the 29-player squad will face Serbia and Switzerland. On Friday, June 7th, the squad will be reduced to a maximum of 26 players.

Due to injury, Austrian captain David Alaba will be unable to play. However, Rangnick revealed that Alaba will accompany the team to the European Championship as a "non-playing captain" and provide off-field support to the team.

Rangnick said, "It's obviously very unfortunate that he cannot participate as a player. I have been in close communication with Alaba over the past few weeks. He emphasized that despite the situation, he still wants to be part of the European Championship. Therefore, I am very pleased to announce that after good communication with his club, Real Madrid, this is possible. He will join the team on June 4th or 5th. We will do our utmost to prepare for the European Championship and ensure that the players are in good form when the competition begins."