Arnautovic: participation in the World Cup as a career highlight - Austria's dream lives!

Arnautovic: participation in the World Cup as a career highlight - Austria's dream lives!

San Marino, San Marino - Austria opened the game in the World Cup qualification with a victory against Romania. In a gripping match that took place on June 8, 2025, the Ralf Rangnick team was able to secure a 2-1 win, despite a mixed performance in the first section. Arnautovic, who is considered one of the formative faces of the ÖFB team, was not the decisive factor and was unable to score a goal in his 30 minutes. This leads to questions about his role in the upcoming games, especially in the next game against San Marino.

Ralf Rangnick surprised with his initial formation, while Arnautovic took a seat on the bench. Instead, Gregoritsch started in the attack, who proved to be accurate and scored the first goal in the 42nd minute. It was his 20th international goal, which demonstrates its importance for the team. The spectators, including about 10,000 guests, saw a game that was initially shaped by mistakes on the Austrian side before the team increasingly put pressure on them and converted their superiority into goals.

Arnautovics World Cup target

Marko Arnautovic emphasized in several interviews that participation in the upcoming World Cup 2026 is of great importance for him. He sees this as the perfect end of his career, since Austria has so far participated in the euro three times, but has never played at a World Cup. Arnautovic hopes for a World Cup qualification, the importance of which he is aware of. Team boss Rangnick will have to decide how the changed team dynamics will affect the upcoming encounters, especially with regard to the away game against San Marino, which takes place on Tuesday.

In the second half, the Austrian team initially showed weaknesses, based on the defensive strength of Romania. Sabitzer increased to 2-0 in the 60th minute, which further increased the pressure on the Romanian defense. Romania replied through Denis Alibec, who scored a connecting goal in added time, but did not count due to the whistle.

table and outlook

With the victory against Romania, Austria now has points in the account, although the team in the table is still behind Bosnia-Herzegovina, which leads with nine points from three games. Austria also has two games in the hindquarters and can secure further points through upcoming games against Cyprus and Bosnia.

Preparations for the game against San Marino are already underway. After a regeneration day on Sunday, the team will arrive on Monday. The coming days will be decisive for the Austrian national team, not only for the qualification for the World Cup, but also for the integration of players like Arnautovic in the dynamics of the team.