Austria continues Euro preparations with Malta win

Austria will compete in its first major tournament since Euro 2008 at this year's finals in France and a strong first half was enough to seal victory in the first of two pre-tournament friendlies.

Austria players celebrate a goal against Malta.

Marko Arnautovic and Alessandro Schopf were on target as Austria continued its preparations for Euro 2016 with a 2-1 win over Malta.

Austria will compete in its first major tournament since Euro 2008 at this year's finals in France and a strong first half was enough to seal victory in the first of two pre-tournament friendlies.

Stoke City's Arnautovic pounced on a defensive error to open the scoring in the fourth minute, with Schopf slotting home a well-worked second 14 minutes later. Malta's consolation came in bizarre circumstances as Bayern Munich's David Alaba saw his ill-advised backpass creep over the line in the 87th minute.

Austria will face Netherlands in a friendly on Saturday before its tournament opener with Hungary on June 14.