Austria

Austria's best World Cup finish remains third place in 1954, which included a 7–5 quarterfinal win over Switzerland — still the highest-scoring game in World Cup history.

At 37, Marko Arnautović becomes the oldest player ever to appear at a World Cup for Austria; he is also the country's all-time record scorer (47 goals) and most-capped player (132 caps).

Florian Wiegele, at 2.05m, is reportedly the tallest goalkeeper ever named in a World Cup squad.

Thirteen of Austria's 25 players are based in the German Bundesliga, reflecting Ralf Rangnick's deep ties to that ecosystem and the Red Bull network's influence.

Germany-raised Paul Wanner (born 2005) and Vienna-born Carney Chukwuemeka (born 2003) both switched their international allegiance to Austria in March 2026 — Chukwuemeka scored on his Austria debut against Ghana, while Wanner, fresh off an Eredivisie title with PSV, is the youngest player in Austria's World Cup squad.

The 'Miracle of Córdoba' at the 1978 World Cup saw Austria beat West Germany 3-2 — their first win over Germany in 47 years — and commentator Edi Finger's ecstatic scream 'I wer' narrisch!' ('I'm going crazy!') is still legendary in Austria.

Austria qualified for the 1938 World Cup but never played — the country was annexed by Nazi Germany and ceased to exist before the tournament. Star Matthias Sindelar, the 'Mozart of football', refused to play for the unified German team and died in mysterious circumstances months later.