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Austria national football team

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Austria
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)-
AssociationAustrian Football Association
Head coachJosef Hickersberger
Most capsAndreas Herzog (103)
Top scorerToni Polster (44)
First colours
Second colours
First international
Austria Austria 5 - 0 Hungary Hungary
(Vienna, Austria; October 12, 1902)
Biggest win
Austria Austria 9 - 0 Malta Malta
(Salzburg, Austria; April 30, 1977)
Biggest defeat
Austria Austria 1 - 11 England England
(Vienna, Austria; June 8, 1908)
World Cup
Appearances7 (first in 1934)
Best resultThird place, 1954
European Football Championship
AppearancesNone (yet) (first in 2008)
Best result-

The Austria national football team is the national football team of Austria and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association.

Austria has qualified for seven World Cups, most recently in 1998. The country has not yet qualified for a European Championship; it will play in the tournament for the first time in 2008 when it co-hosts the event with Switzerland.

History

Pre War

In the 1938 finals, Austria qualified but withdrew and did not play any matches because of Anschluss. Their best result came in 1954, when they finished third. It was their best result ever, and unfortunately the last time for decades that Austria reached the end round of a major tournament.

1970s and 1980s

Anchored by legendary playmaker Hans Krankl and backed up by co-star Bruno Pezzey, Austria reached the World Cup in 1978 and 1982 and both times reached the Quarter Finals. That Austria team is widely regarded as the best post-WWII Austrian soccer team ever. The 1982 tournament saw them progress to the quarter-finals after a 1-0 defeat to Germany, a result both sides knew would guarantee them progress.

1990s

Led by striker Toni Polster, Austria qualified for the 1990 World Cup, but were eliminated in the first round. Much worse was the stunning 0:1 loss against the Faroe Isles in the qualifying campaign for the European Championship 1992, considered the worst embarrassment in any Austrian team sport ever. It was a sign for things to come: Austria suffered another couple of years of botched qualifying campaigns.

In the World Cup 1998, 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 superb goal was cancelled out by Toni Polster's late strike. In their second game, it was Ivica Vastic 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.

Recent years

In the recent years, Austria's play has declined. They failed to qualify for the next World Cups and European Championships, and suffered extreme embarrassment when they lost 0:9 against Spain and shortly after 0:5 against Israel in 1999. However, as a co-host for the 2008 European Cup, Austria will have its chance to redeem its name once again.

Stadium

Records at major tournaments

World Cup record

European Championship record

  • 1960 to 2004 - Did not qualify
  • 2008 - Qualified automatically as co-host

Players

Current squad

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

Famous players

Template:Fb start

Template:Fb end

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