THEstating that he was “very impressed” with the Estádio Municipal de Braga, the 43-year-old Austrian coach stated that Sporting de Braga “is a very competitive team”.
“It’s a very solid team from the Portuguese League and it’s going to be a very, very difficult game”, he said at the press conference to preview the match.
The coach also highlighted the fact that Sporting de Braga is “a very experienced team, with great players like João Moutinho, who won the European Championship (2016) with Portugal”.
“But we want to play a good game. We know how they play and we want to make the most of the opportunities we have. Our focus is to play a great game, reduce Braga’s strengths, knowing that all teams also have weaknesses. We want to play collectively and with passion, to give our best on the field and get a good result,” he said.
Ricardo Horta is out at Sporting de Braga due to injury and, despite “respecting the Minho captain a lot”, noting that he “had a great season” in 2025/26, he considered that the Braga team “has more footballers who can make a difference”.
Stpehan Helm said he was aware of the gastrointestinal infection that ravaged the Sporting de Braga squad, but argued that 24 hours would be enough for the players to recover: “We’re going to see a 100 percent Braga”, he said.
Player Matteo Schablas, born in Germany, but an under-21 international for Austria, said he expected a “very difficult game” against “a very strong opponent”.
“There are no favorites and we want to have a good game,” said the 21-year-old left-back, revealing that it will be “the biggest challenge” of his career.
Austria Vienna and Sporting de Braga face each other from 8pm on Thursday, at the Braga Municipal Stadium, in a game that will be refereed by Maltese Ishmael Barbara.
