Austria's national team opened its Nations League season with a 3-1 home win over Israel. The match at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz on Thursday evening saw goals from Romano Schmid, Phillipp Mwene and Sasa Kalajdzic and featured several new faces in Ralf Rangnick's squad.

The victory was an important first step in Group B3 and followed a mixed preparation period. Their recent form of two wins, one draw and two losses in the last five matches showed the need for a strong start in this competition.

Schmid opens from the spot

Austria took the lead in the 43rd minute after a foul in Israel's penalty area was punished. Romano Schmid coolly converted the resulting spot-kick to put the hosts ahead. Israel managed to equalise ten minutes after the break through Sayd Abu Farhi, which opened the game up again.

The decisive phase came in the dying minutes. In the 90th minute, Phillipp Mwene scored to make it 2-1 for Austria following an assist from Paul Wanner. Just three minutes later, in stoppage time, Sasa Kalajdzic put the final touch on a 3-1 victory after a cross from Christoph Lang. This secured a convincing opening win for the team.

Rangnick turns to new forces

Head coach Ralf Rangnick used the opportunity to give several new players their chance. Lukas Jungwirth, Christian Zawieschitzky, Felix Bacher, Nikolas Veratschnig, Christoph Lang, Vasilije Markovic and Sascha Horvath all celebrated their debut for the senior national team. This rotation was also necessary as established names like David Alaba, Marko Arnautovic, Marcel Sabitzer, Christoph Baumgartner and Konrad Laimer were missing from this season's squad. Also, Dejan Ljubičić, Florian Grillitsch, Konrad Laimer and Michael Svoboda are currently sidelined with injuries.

Broadcast rights were held by ORF1 and ORF On, where Rainer Pariasek served as moderator. "Als Moderator fungiert Rainer Pariasek," Pariasek said of his role with the broadcaster.

Attention now quickly turns to the next competitive fixture. As early as Sunday, 27 September 2026, Austria hosts its next Nations League group opponent, Kosovo. For the upcoming task, Rangnick will once again have to rely on the depth of his squad, the composition of which is detailed in our squad overview. With the win against Israel, Austria has created a good starting position in Group B3 and can look ahead to the next match with confidence.

Further reading: Kicker

Israel forward Saied Abu Farchi was sent off with a second yellow card for his goal celebration in the 3-1 defeat to Austria. The 20-year-old simulated firing a gun with the corner flag after his 55th-minute equalizer. Austria capitalized on the numerical advantage, scoring decisive late goals through Phillipp Mwene and Sasa Kalajdzic. The next Nations League match is against Kosovo on September 27.

15,200 spectators watched the match against Israel in the Raiffeisen Arena. The Austrian FA confirmed this after the 3-1 victory. The next competitive match is against Kosovo on September 27.