Austria national football team

Austria
Nickname(s) Das Team
Burschen
Unsere Burschen
Association Österreichischer Fußball-Bund (ÖFB)
Confederation UEFA (Europe)
Head coach Marcel Koller
Captain Julian Baumgartlinger
Most caps Andreas Herzog (103)
Top scorer Anton Polster (44)
Home stadium Ernst-Happel-Stadion
FIFA code AUT
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 36 Steady (4 May 2017)
Highest 10 (March–June 2016)
Lowest 105 (July 2008)
Elo ranking
Current 42 Steady (30 April 2017)
Highest 1 (May 1934)
Lowest 75 (2 September 2011)
First international
 Austria 5–0 Hungary 
(Vienna, Austria; October 12, 1902)
Biggest win
 Austria 9–0 Malta 
(Salzburg, Austria; April 30, 1977)
Biggest defeat
 Austria 1–11 England 
(Vienna, Austria; June 8, 1908)
World Cup
Appearances 7 (first in 1934)
Best result Third place, 1954
European Championship
Appearances 2 (first in 2008)
Best result Group stage, 2008 and 2016

The Austria national football team (German: Österreichische Fußballnationalmannschaft) is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association (German: Österreichischer Fußballbund). Austria has qualified for seven World Cups, most recently in 1998. The country played in the European Championship for the first time in 2008 when it co-hosted the event with Switzerland and most recently qualified in 2016.

History

Pre-war

The Austrian Football Association 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 1–0 to Italy in the semi-finals and 3–2 to Germany in the third place play-off. They were runners-up in the 1936 Olympics, again losing to Italy 2–1, despite having been beaten in quarter-finals by Peru, following the Peruvians withdrawal. However, according to an investigation, the surprise victory by Peru was deliberately annulled by Adolf Hitler to favour the Austrians.

The team then qualified for the 1938 FIFA World Cup finals, but Austria was annexed to Germany in the Anschluss on 12 March of that year. On 28 March, FIFA was notified that the Austrian FA had been abolished, resulting in the nation's withdrawal from the World Cup.[2] Instead the German team would represent the former Austrian territory. Theoretically, a united team could have been an even stronger force than each of the separate ones, but German coach Sepp Herberger had little time and very few games to prepare and merge the very different styles of play and attitude. The former Austrian professionals outplayed the rather athletic yet amateur player of the "Old Empire" in a "reunification" derby that was supposed to finish as a draw, yet in the waning minutes, the Austrians scored twice, with Matthias Sindelar also demonstratively missing the German goal, and subsequently declining to be capped for Germany. In a later rematch, the Germans took revenge, winning 9–1. In early April, Herberger inquired whether two separate teams could enter anyway, but "Reichssportführer" Hans von Tschammer und Osten made clear that he expected to see a 5:6 or 6:5 ratio of players from the two hitherto teams. As a result, five players from Austria Wien, Rapid Wien and Vienna Wien were part of the team that only managed a 1–1 draw in Round 1 against Switzerland, which required a rematch. With Rapid Wien's forward Pesser having been sent off, and not satisfied with two others, Herberger had to alter the line-up on six positions to fulfill the 6:5 quota again. The all-German team led the Swiss 2–0 after 15 minutes, but eventually lost 4–2 in Paris, in front of a rather anti-German French and Swiss crowd, as few German supporters were able to travel to France due to German restrictions on foreign currency exchange.

After the War

After World War II, Austria was again separated from Germany. Austria's best result came in 1954 with a team starring midfielder Ernst Ocwirk. They lost in the semi-finals 6–1 to eventual champions Germany, but finished third after beating defending champions Uruguay 3–1. This remains their best result ever, and unfortunately the last time for decades that Austria reached the end round of a major tournament. Over the years, a strong yet mainly lopsided rivalry with Germany developed.

At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the Austrian team was a disappointment. Defeats to the eventual champions Brazil, the emerging Soviet Union and a draw against a weakened England (who were rebuilding after the loss of several of their key players due to the Munich air disaster) prevented the team to reach the next round. Still holding to the great popularity in the country, under new coach Decker again made an international sensation in the era. In front of a record crowd of over 90,000 spectators, made possible by the expansion of the Prater Stadium, the team could beat 3–1 to Soviet Union and Spain 3–0. Due to lack of money, however, Austria decided not to participate at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, and the team fell apart. Abrupt end of Austria’s success in the postwar period eventually formed the clear 0–6 loss against Czechoslovakia in 1962, of which many players and also Karl Decker did not recover.

After the end of Decker era, the team was unable for a long time to connect to the old successes; these were limited mostly only to surprise victories in individual games. Due to the great popularity of the Austrian team, on 20 October 1965, Austria succeeded as the third team of the continent to defeat the English national team at home. Two goals in a 3–2 victory achieved Toni Fritsch, who was nicknamed "Wembley Toni" then. In the same year, however, Austria failed to qualify for the first time to the World Cup in the 1966 edition, ending third against a still-strong Hungary and the GDR; they only got a draw. In the summer of 1968, Leopold Šťastný, the Slovak successful coach of the Wacker Innsbruck, took over the national football team. Despite failing to qualify for the 1970 World Cup, the new coach emphasized on developing new players, rather than relying in the old ground. Supported by a large football euphoria, Austria came very close to qualify to the 1974 World Cup in Germany. The qualifying round of the Austrian team decided on points and goal difference with the same with Sweden in the first place, so that a play between these two teams to qualify in Gelsenkirchen should be discharged. In order to have enough time to prepare, a championship round was exposed and covered the quarter in Germany five days before the playoff. On snow-covered ground, the team lost but with 1–2, besides, numerous missed chances, hit the bar, among other things, the gate lintel. The team also remained undefeated.

1970s and 1980s

Anchored by Herbert Prohaska and striker Hans Krankl, backed up by Bruno Pezzey, Austria reached the World Cup in 1978 and 1982 and both times reached the second round, held in team group games that replaced the knock-out quarter-finals. This Austria team, coached by Helmut Senekowitsch, is widely regarded as the best post-WWII Austrian football team ever.

In the 1978 FIFA World Cup in Argentina, they had lost two games and would almost surely finish last in their second round group of four teams, but they put in a special effort for their last game in Córdoba against West Germany, which had still chances of qualifying for the Final. The Austrians also denied the defending world champion a trip to the third place match, beating them 3–2 by two goals of Hans Krankl, plus an own goal. The celebrating report of the radio commentator Edi Finger ("I werd narrisch!") became famous in Austria, where it is considered the Miracle of Cordoba, while the Germans regard the game and the Austrian behaviour as a disgrace.

During the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, Austria and West Germany met again, in the last game of the group stage. Because the other two teams in the group had played their last game 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 eighty minutes with few attempts to attack. The game became known as the non-aggression pact of Gijón. Algeria had also won two games, including a shocking surprise over Germany in the opener, but among the three teams that had won two games, was eliminated based on goal difference, having conceded two late goals in their 3–2 win over Chile. The Algerian supporters were furious, and even the Austrian and West German fans showed themselves to be extremely unhappy with the nature of their progression. As a result of this game, all future tournaments would see the last group games played simultaneously. Austria and Northern Ireland were eliminated by losing to France in the second round group stage of three teams.

1990s

Led by striker Anton Polster, Austria qualified for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, but were eliminated in the first round, despite defeating the United States by a 2–1 score. Much worse was the stunning 1–0 loss against the Faroe Islands, a team made of amateurs, in the qualifying campaign for the 1992 European Championship, considered the worst embarrassment in any Austrian team sport ever, and one of the biggest upsets in footballing history. The game was played in Landskrona, Sweden, because there were no grass fields on the Faroe Islands. It was a sign for things to come. Austria suffered another couple of years of botched qualifying campaigns, despite playing some entertaining football in the closing stages of UEFA Euro 1996 qualification.

In the 1998 FIFA World Cup, Austria were drawn in Group B along with Italy, Cameroon and Chile. Their appearance was brief but eventful, as they managed the curious feat of only scoring in stoppage time in each of their matches. Against Cameroon, Pierre Njanka's goal was cancelled out by Anton Polster's late strike. In their second game, it was Ivica Vastić who curled a last minute equalizer, cancelling out Marcelo Salas's disputed opener. Austria weren't so fortunate in their crucial, final match at the Stade de France. Italy scored twice after half-time: a header from Christian Vieri and a tap-in from Roberto Baggio. Andreas Herzog's stoppage time penalty kept up Austria's unusual scoring pattern, but was not enough to prevent Austria finishing third in the group, behind the Italians and Chileans.

21st century

2000s – Decline

Austria national football team before the match against Spain, 2009-11-18
Exhibition game Austria vs. Romania at 5st. June 2012
Austria national football team before the match against Sweden, 2013-06-07

After 1998, Austria began to decline. They failed to qualify for 2002 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000, and suffered extreme embarrassment (similar to the Faroe Islands loss) when they lost 9–0 to Spain and 5–0 to Israel in 1999. In 2006, Josef Hickersberger became coach of the Austrian national team, which included some respectable results such as a 1–0 victory against Switzerland in 2006.

Austria qualified automatically for the 2008 European Championships as co-hosts. Their first major tournament in a decade, most commentators regarded them as outsiders and whipping-boys 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 that Austria withdraw from the tournament to spare the nation's embarrassment.[3] However, Austria performed better than expected. They managed a 1–1 draw with Poland, gave the Croatians a hard time before losing 1–0 to a Luka Modrić penalty and defended valiantly against the Germans but Michael Ballack's free kick sealed the game in a 1–0 defeat.

Shortly after Austria's first-round exit from the tournament, Hickersberger resigned as the national team coach. Karel Brückner, who had resigned as head coach of the Czech Republic after that country's first round exit from Euro 2008, was soon named as his replacement. After only eight months Brückner was released in March 2009 and the position was subsequently taken by Didi Constantini. Even though Austria did not manage to secure automatic qualification or a play-off spot for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, under Brückner they still managed a memorable 3–1 win over France during qualifying, which was also France's only defeat in qualifying.

2010s – Revival

In the qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 2012 the Austrians played against Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Turkey and Germany. Despite playing against the Germans, it wasn't perceived as one of the most difficult groups, since Turkey and Belgium, the main contenders for the play-off spot, both struggled in the previous World Cup qualifiers. Austria started fairly well, beating the group's two weakest teams, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, both wins being at home. It was followed with an exciting match in Belgium, which ended in a bizarre 4–4 score, what was seen as a good result for Das Team, as it meant that it had gone through all qualifiers in 2010 unbeaten. However, in March 2011, the Austrians' luck took a turn for the worse, as Belgium went to Vienna and recovered the points missed at home with a deserved 2–0 win, courtesy of an Axel Witsel double. The defeat in the head-to-head clash at home set the tone for remaining matches as Austria was again defeated four days later, this time in Turkey, another crucial match. In June, the Austrians faced a must-win against Germany. Austria played bravely, but was once again defeated, this time in injury time, Mario Gómez scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 defeat. In the return leg, the team was crushed by Germany in an impressive 6–2 score. At that point, the mathematic hopes for even a top-two finish effectively ended. Despite those four straight defeats, Austria finished the campaign unbeaten in the last three matches, drawing against Turkey (at home) and Kazakhstan (away), and recording a sounding 4–1 win in Azerbaijan (away).

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Group C

Over the past 2 years, the Austrian team has seen a major renaissance. A number of players from the 2007 U-20 team that finished 4th in the World Cup that year have ended up developing and becoming full starters for the squad. These players include Sebastian Prödl, Markus Suttner, Martin Harnik, Veli Kavlak, Erwin Hoffer, Zlatko Junuzović and Rubin Okotie. The new generation of young and talented Austrian footballers has helped begin a new era in Austrian football after a previous decade in the abyss.

The team failed to qualify for the 2014 tournament in Brazil, but finished in 3rd place with a respectable 5–2–3 record with 17 points and a +10 goal difference; there were a number of quality results, such as home victories over the Republic of Ireland and Sweden, as well as a narrow home defeat to Germany and a 2–2 draw in Ireland, as well as losing a hard-fought 1–2 game in Sweden.

The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying campaign has been even more successful. Again, the Austrians battled and drew with the Swedes 1–1. Austria also recorded a pair of quality victories over Moldova (2–1 in Chisinau) and Montenegro (1–0 in Vienna) before achieving one of the finest moments in Austrian football since the team last qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 1997 with a 1–0 victory over Russia in front of a packed crowd in Vienna. Okotie scored the deciding goal in the closing 20 minutes of the game after a previous Austrian goal a minute before was controversially disallowed. The Austrians played a friendly game against vaunted Brazil a few days later, but would battle the Samba Kings before falling to a late goal by Roberto Firmino in a 2–1 loss.

The Austrians good fortunes continued in 2015. Austria won comfortably against Liechtenstein 5–0, before facing a true test of their strength in Moscow in a key match against Russia. Despite the heavy pressure, the Austrians were able to come away with an impressive victory, courtesy of a goal by Marc Janko in the 33rd minute; the Austrians held on, edging closer to the Euros. In their next fixture against Moldova, despite the heavy pressure to win, the Austrians escaped with a narrow home victory over Moldova, securing at least a playoff spot for next year's competition. On 8 September 2015 a 4–1 win over Sweden secured Austria's place at UEFA Euro 2016.

Rivalry

The match-up between Austria and Hungary is the second most-played international in football (only Argentina and Uruguay have met each other in more matches).

Records at major tournaments

World Cup record

Main article: Austria at the FIFA World Cup
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930Did not enter
Italy 1934Fourth place4th420277
France 1938 to Brazil 1950Withdrew
Switzerland 1954Third place3rd54011712
Sweden 1958Group stage15th301227
Chile 1962Withdrew
England 1966 to West Germany 1974Did not qualify
Argentina 1978Round 27th6303710
Spain 1982Round 28th521254
Mexico 1986Did not qualify
Italy 1990Group stage18th310223
United States 1994Did not qualify
France 1998Group stage23rd302134
South KoreaJapan 2002 to Brazil 2014Did not qualify
Russia 2018To be determined
Qatar 2022
TotalThird place7/2029124134347

European Championship record

Main article: Austria at the UEFA European Football Championship
UEFA European Championship record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
France 1960 to Portugal 2004 Did not qualify
Austria Switzerland 2008 Group stage 13th 3 0 1 2 1 3
Poland Ukraine 2012 Did not qualify
France 2016 Group stage 22nd 3 0 1 2 1 4
Total Group stage 2/15 6 0 2 4 2 7

Players

Current squad

The following players have been called up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Republic of Ireland on 11 June 2017.[4]
Caps and goals as of 11 June 2017 after match against Republic of Ireland.[5]

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Heinz Lindner (1990-07-17) 17 July 1990 11 0 Switzerland Grasshoppers Zürich
1GK Daniel Bachmann (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 0 0 England Watford
1GK Markus Kuster (1994-02-22) 22 February 1994 0 0 Austria Mattersburg
2DF Sebastian Prödl (1987-06-21) 21 June 1987 63 4 England Watford
2DF Aleksandar Dragović (1991-03-06) 6 March 1991 57 1 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
2DF Florian Klein (1986-11-17) 17 November 1986 45 0 Germany VfB Stuttgart
2DF Martin Hinteregger (1992-09-07) 7 September 1992 25 2 Germany FC Augsburg
2DF Kevin Wimmer (1992-11-15) 15 November 1992 8 0 England Tottenham Hotspur
2DF Valentino Lazaro (1996-03-24) 24 March 1996 8 0 Germany Hertha BSC
2DF Stefan Lainer (1992-08-27) 27 August 1992 2 0 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
2DF Stefan Stangl (1991-10-24) 24 October 1991 1 0 Austria Red Bull Salzburg
2DF Kevin Danso (1998-09-19) 19 September 1998 0 0 Germany Augsburg
3MF Martin Harnik (1987-06-10) 10 June 1987 66 15 Germany Hannover 96
3MF David Alaba (Vice-captain) (1992-06-24) 24 June 1992 57 11 Germany Bayern Munich
3MF Zlatko Junuzović (1987-09-26) 26 September 1987 55 7 Germany Werder Bremen
3MF Julian Baumgartlinger (1988-01-02) 2 January 1988 54 1 Germany Bayer Leverkusen
3MF Louis Schaub (1994-12-29) 29 December 1994 2 0 Austria Rapid Wien
3MF Florian Grillitsch (1995-08-07) 7 August 1995 2 0 Germany Hoffenheim
3MF Florian Kainz (1992-10-24) 24 October 1992 2 0 Germany Werder Bremen
3MF Konrad Laimer (1997-05-27) 27 May 1997 0 0 Germany RB Leipzig
4FW Guido Burgstaller (1989-04-29) 29 April 1989 11 0 Germany Schalke 04
4FW Michael Gregoritsch (1994-04-18) 18 April 1994 3 0 Germany Hamburger SV
4FW Deni Alar (1990-01-18) 18 January 1990 0 0 Austria Sturm Graz

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Austria squad in the last 12 months and are still eligible for selection.[6]

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Andreas Lukse (1987-11-08) 8 November 1987 1 0 Austria Altach v.  Moldova, 24 March 2017 INJ
GK Ramazan Özcan RET (1984-06-28) 28 June 1984 10 0 Germany Bayer Leverkusen v.  Slovakia, 15 November 2016
GK Robert Almer (1984-03-20) 20 March 1984 33 0 Austria Austria Wien v.  Serbia, 9 October 2016
DF Markus Suttner RET (1987-04-16) 16 April 1987 20 0 Germany Ingolstadt 04 v.  Finland, 28 March 2017
DF Michael Madl (1988-03-21) 21 March 1988 1 0 England Fulham v.  Finland, 28 March 2017
MF Marcel Sabitzer (1994-03-17) 17 March 1994 27 4 Germany RB Leipzig v.  Republic of Ireland, 11 June 2017 INJ
MF Marko Arnautović (1989-04-19) 19 April 1989 62 15 England Stoke City v.  Finland, 28 March 2017
MF Stefan Ilsanker (1989-05-18) 18 May 1989 23 0 Germany RB Leipzig v.  Finland, 28 March 2017
MF Alessandro Schöpf (1994-02-07) 7 February 1994 12 2 Germany Schalke 04 v.  Finland, 28 March 2017
MF Karim Onisiwo (1992-03-17) 17 March 1992 2 0 Germany Mainz 05 v.  Slovakia, 15 November 2016
FW Marc Janko (captain) (1983-06-25) 25 June 1983 63 28 Czech Republic Sparta Prague v.  Republic of Ireland, 11 June 2017 INJ
FW Lukas Hinterseer (1991-03-28) 28 March 1991 12 0 Germany Bochum v.  Slovakia, 15 November 2016

INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
RET Retired from international football
SUS Suspended in official matches.

Staff

Former squads

Recent and forthcoming fixtures

As of 11 June 2017

{{2018 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group D table |show_team=AUT}}

Player statistics

As of 11 June 2017[5][7]
Players in bold are still active in the national team.

Most capped players

Andreas Herzog is the most capped player in the history of Austria with 103 caps.
# Player Period Caps Goals
1 Andreas Herzog 1988–2003 103 26
2 Anton Polster 1982–2000 95 44
3 Gerhard Hanappi 1948–1964 93 12
4 Karl Koller 1952–1965 86 5
5 Friedrich Koncilia 1970–1985 84 0
Bruno Pezzey 1975–1990 84 9
7 Herbert Prohaska 1974–1989 83 10
8 Christian Fuchs 2006–2016 78 1
9 Johann Krankl 1973–1985 69 34
Andreas Ivanschitz 2003–2014 69 12

Top goalscorers

Anton "Toni" Polster is the top scorer in the history of Austria with 44 goals.
# Player Period Goals Caps Average
1 Anton Polster 1982–2000 44 95 0.46
2 Johann Krankl 1973–1985 34 69 0.49
3 Johann Horvath 1924–1934 29 46 0.63
4 Erich Hof 1957–1968 28 37 0.76
5 Marc Janko 2006–present 63 0.44
6 Anton Schall 1927–1934 27 28 0.96
7 Matthias Sindelar 1926–1937 26 43 0.6
8 Andreas Herzog 1988–2003 26 103 0.25
9 Karl Zischek 1931–1945 24 40 0.6
10 Walter Schachner 1976–1994 23 64 0.36

Kit history

Austria used to play in similar colours to those of the Germany national football team; white jerseys, black shorts, black socks (the Germans wear white ones). In order to distinguish themselves, in 2004 coach Hans Krankl switched to their former away shirts, which have the same colour scheme as Austria's flag, red-white-red. To further distinguish themselves from Germany, the Austrians had used an all-black away kit, but as of 2010, the white shirt and black shorts is used as the away kit. During the 1934 FIFA World Cup match against Germany, the Austrians borrowed a set of light blue tops belonging to SC Napoli for the match, as both teams had white shirts and black shorts.

1978
1982
1990
1992
1998
2008
2012
2014
2016

Austria's current kit suppliers are Puma since 1978.

Manager history

As of 24 March 2017, after the match against Moldova.[7]

1912–1945

1945–1999

2000–present

NameNationalityFromToPWDLGFGAWin%[8]Notes
Otto Barić  Austria
 Croatia		 13 April 1999 21 November 2001 22 7 6 9 31 35 31.82
Hans Krankl  Austria 21 January 2002 28 September 2005 31 10 10 11 47 46 32.26
Willibald Ruttensteiner
Andreas Herzog
Slavko Kovačić
  Austria 30 September 2005 December 2005 2 1 0 1 2 1 50.00
Josef Hickersberger  Austria 1 January 2006 23 June 2008 27 5 9 13 29 39 18.52
Karel Brückner  Czech Republic 25 July 2008 2 March 2009 7 1 2 4 9 15 14.29
Dietmar Constantini  Austria 4 March 2009 13 September 2011 23 7 3 13 29 42 30.43
Willibald Ruttensteiner
  Austria 13 September 2011 11 October 2011 2 1 1 0 4 1 50.00
Marcel Koller   Switzerland 1 November 2011 Present 50 23 12 15 76 54 46 Green tick Qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016

References

  1. ↑ After 1988, the tournament has been restricted to squads with no more than 3 players over the age of 23, and these matches are not regarded as part of the national team's record, nor are caps awarded.
  2. ↑ Nazis in der Abseitsfalle. einestages. Spiegel Online. Accessed 10 May 2010.
  3. ↑ Moore, Glenn (2007-08-16). "Austria must pull out of Euro 2008, say 10,000 fans petition". London: The Independent. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  4. ↑ "Youngster Kevin Danso und Konrad Laimer erstmals dabei". oefb.at. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 "NATIONALTEAM _Das Team". ÖFB.
  6. ↑ "Der Grosskader des ÖFB Nationalteams" (in German). ÖFB. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
  7. 1 2 "NATIONALTEAM _Statistik". ÖFB.
  8. 1 2 3 Win% is rounded to two decimal places
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