Austrian party in Vienna! Austria qualifies for the World Cup for the first time in 27 years.

Austria had to wait anxiously for a long time, but in the end David Alaba and his teammates will be heading to the 2026 World Cup overseas. A draw against their pursuers Bosnia and Herzegovina in the sold-out Ernst Happel Stadium was enough to secure qualification.

18 November 2025

From: cst

Michael Gregoritsch will go down in Austrian football history. The striker for the Danish club Brøndby IF scored the decisive equalizer in the 78th minute, securing a 1-1 draw for the red-white-red football nation for the first time since 1998.

It was Bosnia, who could have overtaken Austria for first place in the qualifying table with a win, who scored the first goal. Haris Tabakovic put them ahead 1-0 after 12 minutes. Austria subsequently controlled the game without creating any clear-cut chances. In the 43rd minute, Konrad Laimer scored the equalizer, but it was disallowed after a foul and a VAR review.

After the break, it was the same story. Austria controlled the game, Bosnia waited. Tabakovic missed a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 (50'). Just when Bosnia seemed to have everything under control, Austria struck. A cross from Marcel Sabitzer hit the crossbar, Gregoritsch was quicker than the Bosnian defense and poked the ball over the line – the jubilation in the Prater Stadium knew no bounds.

Bosnia & Herzegovina in the playoffs

Edin Dzeko and his teammates now face the playoffs. Italy is a potential semifinal opponent. The playoff matches for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, Canada, and the USA will take place from March 23 to 31, 2026.

Scott McTominay and Scotland are going to the 2026 World Cup. © APA/afp / ANDY BUCHANAN

Besides Austria, Spain, Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland also qualified for the World Cup finals on Tuesday evening. This means that 12 of the 16 starting places are now from Europe.

Schlagwörter: Soccer World Cup Qualification WM 2026 Austria