🏆 Austria national football team 2026 World Cup Squads

The Austria national football team (German: Österreichische Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Austria in men's international football competitions, and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association.

The Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) was founded on 18 March 1904, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the 1930s, under coach Hugo Meisl, Austria's national team, known as the \"Wunderteam\" (literally \"Miracle Team\"), became a dominant force in European football. Notable achievements included a fourth-place finish in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and silver medal at the 1936 Olympic Games. The Anschluss in 1938, which annexed Austria into Nazi Germany, led to the dissolution of the ÖFB and the obligatory integration of Austrian players into the German national team for the 1938 World Cup.

After World War II, Austria reestablished its national team and achieved significant success in the 1954 World Cup, finishing third. The team continued to be competitive throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including a notable victory over England at Wembley Stadium in 1965. However, the following decades saw fluctuating fortunes, with the team failing to qualify for FIFA World Cup in the 1960s and narrowly missing out on the 1974 World Cup in a playoff against Sweden. The 1970s and 1980s marked a revival, with Austria reaching the second round in the 1978 and 1982 World Cup, highlighted by a famous victory over West Germany in 1978.

The 1990s and 2000s brought challenges and disappointments, such as a defeat to the Faroe Islands in UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying, and a group-stage exit in the 1998 World Cup, their seventh and until then, last World Cup appearance. Austria automatically qualified for UEFA Euro 2008 as co-hosts with Switzerland, the first time they played in the UEFA European Championship, but was eliminated in the group stage. The country entered a resurgence in 2016, beginning with a successful qualification campaigns for the UEFA Euro 2016, Euro 2020, Euro 2024; and after 28 years of absence in the tournament, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with current head coach Ralf Rangnick.