Showdown on Tuesday

LIVE: Showdown! Austria aim for victory in Cyprus

Great jubilation for the ÖFB team - will they get their World Cup ticket today?(Bild: AP/Chara Savvidou)

Austria's national soccer team has opened the door to the 2026 World Cup wide open with a 2:0 victory in Cyprus. A penalty from Marko Arnautovic in the 18th minute laid the foundation for the important triumph for team boss Ralf Rangnick's side. It was the ice-cold "Arnie" who finally provided the preliminary decision with his second goal in the 55th minute. However, as Bosnia beat Romania 3:1 on Saturday evening, they were unable to secure their World Cup ticket after all. The big showdown will take place on Tuesday. 

Arnautovic captained the ÖFB team at the Alphamega Stadium in place of the suspended David Alaba. As Phillipp Mwene was also serving a suspension, Konrad Laimer started at left-back for the first time in the national team - a position in which he has already impressed at Bayern Munich. In the center of defence, team boss Ralf Rangnick opted for Kevin Danso alongside Philipp Lienhart. Before that, Xaver Schlager impressed in defensive midfield after his recent calf problems. The average age of Austria's starting line-up was 28.3 years.

The experienced ÖFB squad fired the first shot on goal through Marcel Sabitzer (4th), but did not really pose a threat in the first quarter of an hour. However, after Anderson Correia brought down Christoph Baumgartner just inside the penalty area, the 1,700 ÖFB fans in attendance were able to cheer: Arnautovic dispatched a sharp penalty into the right corner. The Austrians had the game better under control than the first leg in Linz in September, which Sabitzer had also decided from the penalty spot after a foul on Baumgartner (1:0).

In Limassol, the Austrian team could have taken a bigger lead before the break. Stefan Posch headed wide from Sabitzer's cross (23') and Sabitzer himself failed to get the ball past Cyprus goalkeeper Fabiano (26') after an impressive instep pass from Laimer. Laimer also set up Nicolas Seiwald, but his shot was too central (43'). The Cypriots played on the counter-attack and only scored once in the first half through Christos Shelis (33rd/offside).

Arnautovic with eight qualifying goals
After the break, Romano Schmid also headed home from a Sabitzer cross (48') before Arnautovic struck for the second time. Danso won a duel in the opponent's half and his long ball ended up with the ÖFB record goalscorer. The latter then picked out Nikos Panagiotou and calmly curled the ball into the far corner. It was the 36-year-old's 47th goal for the national team and his eighth in the current qualifying campaign.

A short time later, the game was over, with Michael Gregoritsch and Patrick Wimmer coming on for Arnautovic and Xaver Schlager (60'). After Gregoritsch's attempt was blocked, Wimmer shot against the bar (80'). Cyprus, number 125 in the FIFA world rankings, did not register such clear-cut goalscoring opportunities. The Austrians also won the eighth competitive match in their history against the footballers from the Mediterranean island.

With their sixth win in their seventh qualifying match, the ÖFB team have at least secured second place in their group and thus a place in the World Cup play-off in March. This also means that Rangnick will remain in charge of the team for at least that long. The German's contract would also be automatically extended until next summer's tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada if he takes part in the World Cup. Bosnia's victory over Romania means that the Austrians must not lose the direct duel in Vienna on Tuesday (8.45 pm) if they are not to lose their ticket to North America.