Austria – World Cup Profile

Austria are set to appear in their eighth World Cup in 2026, but this tournament will be their first time in over 25 years. Their most recent campaign was last century, at France 98 where they were knocked out in the group stage, failing to win a single match.

Despite a poor recent history and never winning it, they do have pedigree in the tournament. They placed fourth in the 1934 World Cup, losing to the hosts Italy, which was an impressive feat for Austria in just the second-ever World Cup competition.

Austria’s best-ever finish came in 1954 when they finished third. That tournament was all about goals. After a 1-0 win over Scotland, their next four matches saw 28 more scored (16 for and 12 against). That included a 7-5 win over the hosts Switzerland in the quarter-final.

But enough about their World Cup history, how will the current team fare in this year’s tournament?

Key Players

Their star man is Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer. The versatile midfielder known for playing in both full back positions and anywhere in midfield will be key if Austria have any chance of progressing far at this tournament. 

Despite not being a flashy player like many other nation’s stars, he is a tireless worker that will make life difficult for any opposition.

The defender is the captain of the team and has forged an impressive career playing at some of the World’s best clubs. In his time as a Bayern Munich and Real Madrid player he won four Champions League titles (two with each), 10 Bundesliga titles and he has been named Austrian footballer of the year ten times.

However, the Austria star has not played much this season, only featuring 16 times in all competitions due to calf problems and being unable to hold down a place in a side full of talent.

And finally Marko Arnautovic. At 37 he is not the player he was when starring in the Premier League and Serie A, but his experience will be key for a side playing their first World Cup in 28 years.

Arnautovic’s career has seen him play in three of the top five leagues, including spells at Inter Milan, West Ham and Werder Bremen, and he is a player that has always known how to score goals which will be important for Austria this time out.

How They Qualified 

Austria qualified for the tournament in brilliant fashion winning a group comprising Bosnia & Herzegovina, Romania, Cyprus and San Marino. Their only loss was against Romania, but they made up for that with some convincing results including a 10-0 win over San Marino and a 2-1 home win against Romania.

The most impressive part of their qualifying campaign as their defense. They only conceded four goals across the whole of qualifying, scoring 22 in the process. They will be hard to score against in this tournament.

Manager Profile: Ralf Ragnick

The Austria boss is a man familiar to many for managing Manchester United and being a pivotal part of the success of the Red Bull clubs in Austria and Germany.

Ralf Ragnick was formerly the director of football at the Red Bull group in 2012 where he oversaw the clubs grow from a value of $138m to $1.3b between 2012 and 2019 when he left. He then would join Manchester United as interim manager in 2021.

He is credited for progressing the idea of gegenpressing and also increasing the use of zonal marking. 

A Fun Fact

Austria’s goalkeeper, Florian Wiegele, is the tallest player at this year’s World Cup. Standing at 205cm (6’9″) he is 44cm (18 inches) taller than the smallest player (Cesar Yanis of Panama) taking part in the competition.

What to Expect

Much like their showing in qualifying and at Euro 2024, they will be entertaining,

I have already mentioned they can defend, but they also score a lot as well. After scoring 22 goals in qualifying and putting four past Poland in the Euro 2024 group stage, they know how to find the back of the net.

Ragnick’s front foot, gegenpressing football is entertaining to watch, but time will tell whether that approach will work in the North American heat this summer.