Austria are going to the World Cup. For the first time since 1998, Ralf Rangnick's side will be on football's biggest stage — and they've got David Alaba leading them out.
Rangnick confirmed his final 26-man squad on Monday. The headline is Alaba's return to the captaincy after missing Euro 2024 entirely with a long-term knee injury. His club form at Real Madrid has been limited this season, but Rangnick isn't picking him on recent minutes — he's picking him on what he means to this group. That's a bet on leadership over fitness, and it's one Austria fans are backing entirely.
The absences of Gernot Trauner and Maximilian Wöber are a real problem, though. Both regular starters in Austria's tournament defenses, both left out due to injury. Their absence shifts the defensive burden significantly onto Alaba — a player whose knee hasn't fully been tested at elite level in over a year. That's a vulnerability any opponent in Group J will have clocked.
Argentina, Algeria, and Two Wild Cards Who Could Change Everything
Group J is not kind. Argentina arrive as defending champions. Algeria are organized and dangerous. Jordan are unpredictable. Austria's odds of advancing aren't comfortable, and a defensive unit missing two key men won't calm those numbers down.
But the midfield is genuinely exciting. Sabitzer and Laimer give Austria experience and intensity, and behind them are two names who could shift the conversation entirely — Carney Chukwuemeka (22, Borussia Dortmund) and Paul Wanner (20, PSV Eindhoven). Both switched international allegiance to Austria in March, both carry serious club pedigree, and Chukwuemeka already scored on debut. If either catches fire in North America, Austria's ceiling rises considerably.
Up front, Marko Arnautović leads the line at 37. Almost certainly his last World Cup, which gives everything he does here a certain finality. He doesn't need to be at his peak — he needs to be smart, and that he can still manage.
Austria's Full 26-Man Squad
- Goalkeepers: Patrick Pentz, Alexander Schlager, Florian Wiegele
- Defenders: David Alaba (C), David Affengruber, Kevin Danso, Marco Friedl, Philipp Lienhart, Phillipp Mwene, Stefan Posch, Alexander Prass, Michael Svoboda
- Midfielders: Marcel Sabitzer, Konrad Laimer, Christoph Baumgartner, Carney Chukwuemeka, Paul Wanner, Florian Grillitsch, Xaver Schlager, Romano Schmid, Alessandro Schöpf, Nicolas Seiwald, Patrick Wimmer
- Forwards: Marko Arnautović, Michael Gregoritsch, Saša Kalajdžić
Austria qualified by drawing 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina on November 18, 2025 — a result that clinched top spot in UEFA Group H on 19 points. They earned this. Now they find out what it's worth against the world's best.
