Austria Return to the World Cup After 28 Years: Rangnick, Alaba and a Bundesliga-Heavy 26
Ralf Rangnick has named Austria's 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup, the country's first appearance since France 1998. Captain David Alaba anchors a defence with Tottenham's Kevin Danso, record scorer Marko Arnautović leads the line and the midfield runs eleven deep. Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Jordan.
A ustria return to a World Cup for the first time in 28 years. Head coach Ralf Rangnick has named his 26-man squad for the 2026 finals, with captain David Alaba at the centre and a roster dominated by Bundesliga regulars. Das Team last appeared at France 1998, where they exited at the group stage. Their best-ever finish remains the third place achieved at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.
Alaba captains a Real Madrid-led spine
Alaba (Real Madrid) anchors a nine-man defence that includes Kevin Danso (Tottenham), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen), Philipp Lienhart (SC Freiburg), Stefan Posch and Phillipp Mwene (both Mainz 05). In goal Rangnick picked Patrick Pentz, Alexander Schlager and Florian Wiegele. The midfield runs eleven deep, with the RB Leipzig / Bayern / Dortmund triangle especially well represented through Christoph Baumgartner, Konrad Laimer, Marcel Sabitzer, Xaver Schlager, Nicolas Seiwald and Carney Chukwuemeka.
Arnautović, Austrian football's record man
Marko Arnautović, now at Crvena Zvezda after spells with West Ham and Inter, leads a three-man forward line alongside Michael Gregoritsch and Saša Kalajdžić. The 36-year-old is the country's record scorer with 47 international goals in 132 appearances. Konrad Laimer is the reigning Austrian Footballer of the Year and Baumgartner held the prize in 2024, an indication of the depth of options Rangnick has in the engine room.
Group J fixtures
Austria face debutants Jordan on June 16 in Santa Clara, then face reigning champions Argentina on June 22 in Arlington, and close the group against Algeria on June 27 in Kansas City. The target Rangnick has publicly set is at least the Round of 16, a target last met by Austria back in 1982. The draw places the Bundesliga-trained Austrian midfield directly against an Argentina side that lost much of its attacking-midfield depth around the 2022 win, which makes Group J one of the more compelling tactical matchups of the opening round.