The Austria national football team (German: Österreichische Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Austria in men's international football competitions, and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association.
The Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) was founded on 18 March 1904, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the 1930s, under coach Hugo Meisl, Austria's national team, known as the "Wunderteam" (literally "Miracle Team"), became a dominant force in European football. Notable achievements included a fourth-place finish in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and silver medal at the 1936 Olympic Games. The Anschluss in 1938, which annexed Austria into Nazi Germany, led to the dissolution of the ÖFB and the obligatory integration of Austrian players into the German national team for the 1938 World Cup.
After World War II, Austria reestablished its national team and achieved significant success in the 1954 World Cup, finishing third. The team continued to be competitive throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including a notable victory over England at Wembley Stadium in 1965. However, the following decades saw fluctuating fortunes, with the team failing to qualify for FIFA World Cup in the 1960s and narrowly missing out on the 1974 World Cup in a playoff against Sweden. The 1970s and 1980s marked a revival, with Austria reaching the second round in the 1978 and 1982 World Cup, highlighted by a famous victory over West Germany in 1978.
The 1990s and 2000s brought challenges and disappointments, such as a defeat to the Faroe Islands in UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying, and a group-stage exit in the 1998 World Cup, their seventh and until then, last World Cup appearance. Austria automatically qualified for UEFA Euro 2008 as co-hosts with Switzerland, the first time they played in the UEFA European Championship, but was eliminated in the group stage. The country entered a resurgence in 2016, beginning with a successful qualification campaigns for the UEFA Euro 2016, Euro 2020, Euro 2024; and after 28 years of absence in the tournament, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with current head coach Ralf Rangnick.
Contents
History
Pre-World War II
The Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) was founded on 18 March 1904 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The team enjoyed success in the 1930s under coach Hugo Meisl, becoming a dominant side in Europe and earning the nickname "Wunderteam". The team's star was Matthias Sindelar. On 16 May 1931, they were the first continental European side to defeat Scotland.
In the 1934 FIFA World Cup, Austria finished fourth after losing 0–1 to Italy in the semi-finals and 2–3 to Germany in the third-place play-off.
There was controversy at the Peru v Austria match at the Football tournament of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. On 5 August, Austria beat Egypt 3–1 in their opening match. In the quarter-finals, Peru beat Austria 4–2 in extra-time. Peru had rallied from a two-goal deficit in the final 15 minutes of normal time. During extra-time, Peruvian fans allegedly ran onto the field and attacked an Austrian player. In the chaos, Peru scored twice and won, 4–2. Hitler called for a rematch, Austria protested and the International Olympic Committee ordered a replay without any spectators. The Peruvian national Olympic team refused to play the match again and withdrew from the games. The Peruvian government complained and their entire Olympic squad left in protest as did Colombia. Austria reached the final but were beaten 2–1 by Italy after extra time.
The team then qualified for the 1938 World Cup finals. Austria was annexed to Germany in the Anschluss on 12 March of that year. On 28 March, FIFA was notified that the ÖFB had been abolished, resulting in the nation's withdrawal from the World Cup. The Anschluss led to the integration of Austrian players into the German national team for the 1938 World Cup, although not including Austrian star player Matthias Sindelar, who refused to play for the unified team. Austria's place remained empty and Sweden, which would have been Austria's initial opponent, progressed directly to the second-round by default.
After World War II
The team was re-established in 1945 and went on to achieve their best result at a World Cup in 1954, finishing third. Their 7-5 victory over Switzerland in the same tournament set a record for the most goals scored in a World Cup match.
During the 1982 World Cup in Spain, Austria and West Germany met again, in the last match of the group stage. Because the other two teams in the group had played their last match the previous day, both teams knew that a West German win by one goal would see both through, while all other results would eliminate one team or the other. After ten minutes of furious attack, Horst Hrubesch scored for West Germany, and the two teams mainly kicked the ball around for 80 minutes with few attempts to attack. The match became known as the "non-aggression pact of Gijón". Algeria had also won two matches, including a surprise victory over West Germany in the opener. However, among the three teams that had won two matches, Algeria was eliminated due to having an inferior goal difference, having conceded two late goals in their 3–2 win over Chile. This match caused outrage between supporters of multiple national teams; as a result, all future tournaments would see the last group matches played simultaneously. Austria was then eliminated from the tournament in the second round group stage, following a draw with Northern Ireland and loss against France.
21st century
Austria qualified automatically for Euro 2008 as co-hosts. Their first major tournament in a decade, most commentators regarded them as outsiders for Germany, Croatia and Poland in the group stage. Many of their home supporters were in agreement and 10,000 Austrians signed a petition demanding Austria withdraw from the tournament to spare the nation's embarrassment. However, Austria managed a 1–1 draw with Poland and lost 1–0 to both Croatia and Germany.
Despite their successful performance in Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, the tournament itself turned out to be a nightmare for the Austrians. Placed in group F with Hungary, Portugal and Iceland, Austria opened their campaign with a 0–2 loss to neighbour Hungary, in which defender Aleksandar Dragović was sent off. This was followed up by a goalless draw with Portugal, in which Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty. Nonetheless, Austria ended up losing 1–2 to debutant Iceland and were eliminated with just a point.
At UEFA Euro 2020 (held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), Austria advanced to the knockout stage of the European Championship for the first time in their history. They finished second in Group C after defeating North Macedonia and Ukraine, and narrowly lost to Italy 2–1 after extra time in the Round of 16.
Austria also qualified for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany. As of June 2024, the team was drawn into Group D alongside France, the Netherlands, and Poland. Austria finished first in their group, topping France and the Netherlands, which was considered a historic achievement. However, they were eliminated in the Round of 16 after a 2–1 loss to Turkey.
Rivalry
Although the match-up between Austria and Hungary is the second most-played international match in football (only Argentina and Uruguay, another two neighboring countries, have met each other in more matches), Germany has been Austria's arch-rival since the Second World War.
Kits and crest
The national team's home kit has traditionally been a white shirt, black shorts, and white socks. The colours are derived from the Teutonic Order. Their traditional away kit is the flag color: red shirt, white shorts, and red socks. In 2004, Hans Krankl, Austria’s coach and legendary former striker, made the decision to switch the kits around so that red was first choice. This was so that the kit would match the Austrian flag (red-white-red) and also distinguish them from their neighbours. The away shirt colour has changed several times since then. The rotation starts with an all-white uniform, then black uniforms with light blue shorts and socks, and then all black.
Results and fixtures
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win
Draw
Loss
Fixture
Coaching staff
As of April 2024.
Manager history
As of 27 June 2026, after the match against Algeria.
Players
Current squad
The following players were called up to the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League B matches against Israel, Kosovo (twice) and Republic of Ireland on 24, 27 September, 1 and 4 October 2026.
Caps and goals as of 2 July 2026, after the match against Spain.
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Austria squad in the last twelve months.
Individual statistics
As of 2 July 2026, after the match against Spain.
Players in bold are still active in the national team.
Competitive record
FIFA World Cup
Champions Runners-up Third place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
UEFA European Championship
Champions Runners-up Third place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
UEFA Nations League
Champions Runners-up Third place Tournament played fully or partially on home soil
Head-to-head record
Source:
As of 2 July 2026, after the match against Spain.
Positive Record
Neutral Record
Negative Record
Honours
Global
FIFA World Cup
Third place (1): 1954
Olympic Games
Runners-up (1): 1936
Regional
Central European International Cup
Champions (1): 1931–32
Runners-up (2): 1927–30, 1933–35
Third place (2): 1948–53, 1955–60