Draw for the World Cup qualifiers

Which opponents the ÖFB team could face

Dominik Szoboszlai, Erling Haaland, Benjamin Sesko - possible opponents for Austria in the World Cup qualifiers

(Bild: AP/AP, AFP)

Which opponents will Austria face in the World Cup qualifiers? The answer will be revealed today from 12.30 pm at the draw in Zurich(we will be reporting live here). The ÖFB team is seeded in pot one of the draw. This means we will be spared duels with the likes of Spain, France and Germany.

The chance of making it to the 2026 finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada seems better than it has for a long time.

The group winner will receive a World Cup ticket, while the runner-up will go through to a play-off with two knockout rounds in March 2026. Austria have also almost secured their place in the Nations League. However, the clear goal is to secure their first World Cup participation since 1998 directly. After the draw, the Austrians are in any case the best-placed team in their group in the world rankings. However, they have had unpleasant encounters with a number of potential opponents in the recent past.

Reunion with Turkey and Norway?
Pot two includes Turkey, who they were slightly favored to beat 2-1 in the European Championship round of 16 in Leipzig at the beginning of July, and Norway. Although Erling Haaland and Co. dispatched the ÖFB team 5:1 in Linz in October, Austria finished behind the Norwegians in the final Nations League standings because they only managed to draw 1:1 twice against Slovenia. The Slovenians are drawn from pot three - as are Scotland and Ireland.

The pot classification

Pot 1
+ Spain and Netherlands (via placeholders as winners and losers of Nations League quarter-final 1)

+ France and Croatia (via wildcard as winners and losers of Nations League quarter-final 2)

+ Portugal and Denmark (via wildcard as winners and losers of Nations League quarter-final 3)

+ Italy and Germany (via wildcard as winners and losers of Nations League quarter-final 4)

+ England, Belgium, Switzerland, AUSTRIA

Pot 2
Ukraine*, Sweden, Turkey*, Wales, Hungary*, Serbia*, Poland, Romania, Greece*, Slovakia*, Czech Republic, Norway

Pot 3
Scotland*, Slovenia*, Ireland*, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia*, Finland, Iceland*, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel

Pot 4
Bulgaria*, Luxembourg, Belarus, Kosovo*, Armenia*, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania

Pot 5
Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino

= still involved in the Nations League relegation in March

The other possible challengers to the ÖFB team from the second pot are Ukraine, Sweden, Wales, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Greece, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Serbia. The Serbs will be Austria's first opponents of the new year in a first and second leg in March. The World Cup qualifiers will not begin for Austria until June at the earliest - and possibly not until September - due to the relegation play-off for a return to the top division of the Nations League.

Group of five more likely
The 54 teams will be drawn into six groups of four and six groups of five. The groups of four will be played on just three double dates in the fall. A group of five is slightly more likely for Austria. This has to do with the final tournament of the Nations League in June. All eight quarter-finalists in the Nations League are in pot one. In any case, the four quarter-final winners from next March will be drawn into a group of four via placeholders. Only two of these groups will still be free.

Draw procedure

Teams will be drawn into six groups of four (A to F) and six groups of five (G to L), starting with pot 1. The winners of the four Nations League quarter-finals in March will be drawn into groups of four. Each group of five can contain a maximum of one team that is involved in the Nations League in March (quarter-final loser or relegation contender).

In groups of five, Austria cannot face any other team that is also involved in the Nations League relegation in March due to the way the fixture list is organized - one of many necessities that the computer takes into account when drawing the lots. In addition to Rangnick, the ÖFB will be represented in Zurich by sporting director Peter Schöttel, managing director Bernhard Neuhold and press spokesman Christian Wiesmayr.