Austria's squad for the 2026 World Cup

Ashley Davis2 weeks ago

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Article by Maria Olteanu – Published on Wednesday, 20 May 2026, 18:44 / Updated on Wednesday, 20 May 2026 18:46

Austria's national soccer team qualified after a 28-year absence for the World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico this summer. Coach Ralf Rangnick (67) announced earlier this week the 26-man squad he will rely on for the final tournament which runs from June 11 to July 19.

Austria's last appearance at the World Cup was in 1998. The Austrian team, Romania's opponents in the preliminary group for the World Cup, does not lack the veteran Marko Arnautovic, the leader of the attack and the player with the most selections and goals in the history of the country, as well as David Alaba or Marcel Sabitzer.

Main men Gernot Trauner and Maximilian Woeber will miss the final tournament due to injuries, while recently naturalized Paul Wanner and Carney Chukwuemeka have been called up for the World Cup.

Austria qualified for the World Cup after a gap of almost three decades after winning preliminary Group H, which also included Bosnia, Romania, Cyprus and San Marino. The Austrian national team finished in first place, with 19 points, having 8 wins, a draw and a failure. The only defeat came against Romania, in Bucharest, in October 2025.

“Ultimately, we decided on the basis of what is necessary for such a long tournament. We want to go as far as possible and that's why we chose not only the best, but also those who fit our style of play,” Rangnick explained to the Austrian Football Association's official website. Injured or ill players may be substituted up to 24 hours before the start of the tournament.

Austria's squad for the 2026 World Cup

Goalkeepers: Patrick Pentz (Brondby IF), Alexander Schlager (FC Red Bull Salzburg), Florian Wiegele (Viktoria Plzen);

Defenders: David Affengruber (Elche CF), David Alaba (Real Madrid), Kevin Danso (Tottenham Hotspur), Marco Friedl (SV Werder Bremen), Philipp Lienhart (SC Freiburg), Phillipp Mwene (FSV Mainz 05), Stefan Posch (FSV Mainz 05), Alexander Prass (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim), Michael Svoboda (Venezia FC);

midfielders: Christoph Baumgartner (RB Leipzig), Carney Chukwuemeka (Borussia Dortmund), Florian Grillitsch (SC Braga), Konrad Laimer (FC Bayern Munich), Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund), Xaver Schlager (RB Leipzig), Romano Schmid (SV Werder Bremen), Alessandro Schoepf (RZ Pellets WAC), Nicolas Seiwald (RB Leipzig), Paul Wanner (PSV Eindhoven), Patrick Wimmer (VfL Wolfsburg).

Strikers: Marko Arnautovic (FK Red Star Belgrade), Michael Gregoritsch (FC Augsburg), Sasa Kalajdzic (LASK).

Rangnick wants to surpass the performance of the last major tournament this summer. At EURO 2024, the Austrians advanced from top of Group D, which also included France and the Netherlands, but were beaten by Turkey in the round of 16 and eliminated.

“We have at least two players in each position. I think we can achieve a lot with this squad. We want to draw the right conclusions from the EURO experience and show what is in this team,” said the Austria coach.

The Austrians will leave for the final tournament on June 4. 13 days later, his first World Cup match in 28 years awaits, against Jordan. They will then face world champions Argentina (June 22) and finish the group stage with a match against Algeria (June 28).