After the Sabitzer Upheaval

Ralf Rangnick’s ÖFB Roster for the Nations League

Ralf Rangnick has named his first ÖFB squad since the World Cup.(Bild: APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER)

ÖFB head coach Ralf Rangnick has announced his roster for the upcoming Nations League matches. Following Marko Arnautovic’s retirement, Marcel Sabitzer has now also announced he’s taking a break from the national team. As a result, there are several changes to the squad. The press conference is still underway (see stream above).

The Austrian national soccer team is shuffling the deck. Ralf Rangnick is initiating a major shakeup. On Monday, the ÖFB head coach named nine players who did not participate in the World Cup to his 27-man roster for the Nations League opener. Potential international debutants include goalkeepers Lukas Jungwirth and Christian Zawieschitzky, as well as Felix Bacher, Nikolas Veratschnig, Vasilije Markovic, and Christoph Lang. Captain David Alaba, who is currently without a club, is missing from the roster.

Here is the ÖFB roster:

Austria’s roster for the Nations League matches(Bild: ÖFB)

Wöber Back inRangnick’s Squad
Making their returns to the ÖFB squad are Schalke defender Maximilian Wöber, who missed the World Cup due to injury; his club teammate Junior Adamu; and Werder Bremen’s Marco Grüll, another forward. Salzburg captain Veratschnig was called up once last year but did not see any action, just as LASK forward Lang did not play in his national team debut in 2024. Olympique Lyon defender Bacher and Austria Vienna teenager Markovic, along with LASK goalkeeper Jungwirth and Salzburg’s Zawieschitzky, are making their first appearances on the senior national team roster.

  Rounding out the quartet of goalkeepers are World Cup goalkeeper Alexander Schlager—now only a backup at Bremen—and Florian Wiegele. Patrick Pentz is only on the standby list. The same applies to Alessandro Schöpf, another World Cup participant. In addition to Marko Arnautovic and Alaba—who have both retired from the ÖFB squad—the roster also lacks Dejan Ljubicic, who was added to the squad at the last minute, as well as Michael Svoboda (knee problems) and Florian Grillitsch (adductor problems), and Marcel Sabitzer, who is taking a break from the national team at least until the end of the year. Forward Christoph Baumgartner remains unavailable due to injury.

David Alaba is missing from the ÖFB squad.(Bild: GEPA)

Debuts for Bacher and Markovic
Bacher transferred from Estoril Praia in Portugal to Lyon this summer and has been a regular for the top French club ever since. Markovic has established himself at Austria Vienna and, given his heritage, could also play for Serbia. So far, however, the 18-year-old has played exclusively for ÖFB youth teams. After helping the U-17 team finish as World Cup runners-up, the midfielder made his debut with the U-21s in March. The U-21s will play their decisive European Championship qualifying matches against Denmark on October 2 and in Wales on October 6.

Rangnick’s senior national team kicks off Group 3 of League B in the Nations League on September 24 in Linz against Israel. Three days later, they’ll play another home game in Vienna against Kosovo, coached by former ÖFB head coach Franco Foda.

After that, during an international break extended to two weeks, the team will face Ireland on October 1 and Kosovo on October 4. The group stage will conclude with a doubleheader on November 14—against Ireland in Linz and, three days later, against Israel in Debrecen.