Austria starts with a big home win in the World Cup qualification!

Austria starts with a big home win in the World Cup qualification!

On June 7, 2025, Austria's national soccer team successfully started the World Cup qualification. In the sold-out Vienna Happel Stadium, the team of coach Ralf Rangnick celebrated a 2-1 home win against Romania. The number of spectators was with impressive 48,500, including about 10,000 fans from Romania.

The goal shooters for Austria were Michael Gregoritsch, who was successful in the 42nd minute after a long throw -in by Mwene, and Marcel Sabitzer, who increased in the 60th minute after a deflected shot. Romania's goal only fell through Florin Tanase in the 95th minute, which made the result appear a little friendlier for the guests.

game course and list

The course of the game was at the beginning of many mistakes on both sides. Sabitzer was the first to score on the goal for Austria, but the attempt was unsuccessful in the 10th minute. Rangnick's initial formation was surprising and included Maximilian Wöber in central defense, while Kevin Danso and Stefan Posch were sitting on the bench. Patrick Wimmer took over the position on the right defense side, and Gregoritsch played in the attack instead of Marko Arnautovic.

Pentz, who stood in the goal, was crucial in the 76th minute when he prevented a goal. Romania turned out to be a heavy opponent, but could no longer be dangerous due to a weak offensive.

group situation and goals

Austria now leads the group H, where Bosnia-Herzegovina comes first with 9 points from three games, while Romania has six points behind. The aim for the Austrian team is the group victory and a direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup, after more than 25 years without participating in a final round. In the upcoming games, Austria will compete against San Marino on Tuesday before a home game against Cyprus in Linz will follow on September 6th.

Ralf Rangnick relies on nine Bundesliga professionals in the starting eleven, and Nikola's newcomers are sparkling and Thierno Ballo showed promising approaches. In addition, it remains to be seen when David Alaba can return after his injury.

With this start in the World Cup qualification, Austria, which was last in 1998 at a World Cup finals, shows promising developments and hope of returning to the large football stage. Waiting for further challenges, but the team has shown that they are ready to assert herself in this highly competitive group.

The draw of the World Cup qualification brought Austria to a group with Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus and San Marino, which underlines the favorite role of the ÖFB team. The next games are crucial to pave the desired path to the World Cup.

Further information on the opponents and the current table situation can be found on the websites of , Sport1 and football wm.pro .