Austria's football team is chasing San Marino Hohen Sieg at World Cup qualification!

Austria's football team is chasing San Marino Hohen Sieg at World Cup qualification!

The Austrian national team is facing a decisive game in the World Cup qualification, which is kicked off today against San Marino at 8:45 p.m. in the San Marino Stadium in Serravalle. Austria goes into the game as a clear favorite, while San Marino is in the last place in the FIFA world rankings with zero points. The team from San Marino has a goal difference of 1: 8 after three games, which illustrates the clear structural problems of the team. Team boss Ralf Rangnick emphasizes the need for a convincing appearance of his players in order to quickly create clear conditions and to create numerous scoring opportunities.

In the stadium, around 1,500 Austrian fans are expected who want to provide a "home game atmosphere". However, Rangnick has to do without Gernot Trauner and Kevin Danso due to illness, while Philipp Mwene and Maximilian Wöber are questionable for muscle complaints. In the ranks of the players, the experienced Marko Arnautovic could slide into the initial formation, while Marcel Sabitzer could act as a central player. Sabitzer expects a defensively set opponent and emphasizes the importance of a victory to improve the goal difference, which could be decisive in the qualification.

qualification for the 2026 World Cup

The upcoming World Cup qualifiers are of great importance. Austria plays in a group with Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania, Cyprus and San Marino. The group winners qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, while the table runners -up in playoffs have to compete against the best teams in the Nations League. Rangnick demands a determined appearance from his team to secure the necessary points for a direct qualification.

After the game against San Marino, Sabitzer will not go directly on vacation, but will travel to the USA for the club World Cup, which begins on June 14th. The player has "mixed feelings" about this situation, but feels prepared for the tournament. Despite the upcoming vacation, he has nostalgic memories of the arrival in the team hotel in Rimini, who let him think back to his childhood days.

The anticipation for the club World Cup is noticeable, even if his colleagues have other plans. Overall, all of Austria is looking forward to the game against San Marino, which not only offers the chance of valuable points, but could also form the basis for a successful World Cup qualification. The last group games take place in November 2025 before the World Cup begins on June 11, 2026.