Ralf Rangnick has announced his 26-man Austria squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
National icon David Alaba headlines the side, as Das Team prepare for their first global finals since France 1998. Fellow experienced heads Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch and Marcel Sabitzer have also been included in the squad.
Midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka and Paul Wanner, who switched their allegiances from England and Germany respectively this March, have both been included in Rangnick’s squad.
Austria squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026
Patrick Pentz
Alexander Schlager
Florian Wiegele
Defenders
David Affengruber
David Alaba
Kevin Danso
Marco Friedl
Philipp Lienhart
Phillipp Mwene
Stefan Posch
Alexander Prass
Michael Svoboda
Midfielders
Christoph Baumgartner
Carney Chukwuemeka
Florian Grillitsch
Konrad Laimer
Marcel Sabitzer
Xaver Schlager
Romano Schmid
Alessandro Schopf
Nicolas Seiwald
Paul Wanner
Patrick Wimmer
Forwards
Marko Arnautovic
Michael Gregoritsch
Sasa Kalajdzic
All squads are provisional until the final list of 26 players is announced by FIFA, following their submission by participating teams, on 2 June.
Drama-drenched final day secures Austria’s return
Five straight qualifying wins placed Rangnick’s charges in with a great chance of making a first World Cup this century, as they led Group H with just three matches to play.
A late defeat to Romania, though, halted that momentum, and while they defeated Cyprus in their penultimate match to leave them within a point of qualifying, Bosnia and Herzegovina also won to set up a grandstand finish in Vienna.
Haris Tabakovic gave the Dragons the lead after just 12 minutes, and while Austria dominated the shot count from there, they couldn’t break through a stubborn Bosnia rearguard. That was until the 77th minute, when Michael Gregoritsch capitalised on some penalty-box pinball to bundle home the equaliser and send the capital into chaos.
