Höller and Maybach compete at the U17 European Championships

Austria's U17 national team travels to Cyprus today, Friday, where the UEFA EURO 2024 opens on Sunday. The two Austria Vienna players Julian Höller and Philipp Maybach will also be there to showcase themselves on the big stage.

Team boss Martin Scherb's EURO squad has been training in Schwechat since Wednesday, and the flight to Cyprus marks the definitive start of the European Championship adventure. Austria will face Croatia in Larnaca on Monday (7:30 pm), the other opponents in Group B are Wales (23 May, 7:30 pm) and Denmark (26 May, 5 pm).

"We have earned our participation with strong performances. Now we want to show what kind of team we are on the biggest possible stage", says Scherb. "The opening game is always a key match. Croatia are a very unpleasant opponent who have a lot of individual quality. But we have that too. We have to stay focused, concentrate fully on the first game and play with confidence."

Takacs: "Both are focussed, hard-working & self-reflective"

What applies to the team as a whole can also be broken down to the individual players. For the two 16-year-old Austria Vienna players Julian Höller and Philipp Maybach, taking part is both a great honour and an opportunity. Höller is a regular starter in the Violet U18 squad, while Maybach made the leap to the Young Violets in the spring and has already started eight times.

Academy manager Manuel Takacs: "It's an absolute dream for every young athlete to be involved in such a major event. Philipp Maybach and Julian Höller have managed to develop successfully this season, they are focussed, extremely hard-working and self-reflective. Both are intelligent players who can rely on a supportive private environment and with whom they can talk clearly and openly about their development. I would like to say thank you for that and wish our Violet boys and the ÖFB a successful tournament."