San Marino vs Austria, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers, Today Match Prediction

San Marino vs Austria Match Prediction & Analysis

Austria continues their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with an away fixture against San Marino at Stadio Olimpico di Serravalle. Austria, having secured a 2-1 victory over Romania in their opener, arrives in good form, boasting four wins, two draws, and only one defeat in their last seven matches, a run that saw them qualify for the Nations League promotion playoffs.

San Marino, the world's lowest-ranked team, has endured a dismal start to their qualifying campaign, losing all three matches, including a recent 1-0 defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina. While they've managed two wins in their last ten games, both were against Liechtenstein. Austria is expected to dominate against a San Marino side that historically struggles to avoid heavy defeats.

TEAMS PREVIEW

San Marino Preview

San Marino, FIFA's lowest-ranked team, faces a daunting challenge against Austria in their third World Cup qualifier. Despite recent success in the Nations League, securing their first-ever competitive wins against Liechtenstein and earning promotion to League C, World Cup qualifying has proved tougher.

San Marino has lost all three of their qualifiers so far: 0-2 to Cyprus, 1-5 to Romania, and a valiant 0-1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Their home form in WC Qualification is particularly poor, losing their last 10 home matches by 2 or more goals, and their last 4 by 3+ goals. 

Goalkeeper Edoardo Colombo has been crucial, making numerous saves. San Marino remains winless in WC Qualification UEFA for 33 consecutive games and has only won 2 of their last 103 matches across all competitions. 

San Marino Probable Starting Lineup: Colombo; Fabbri, Cevoli, Benvenuti, Riccardi; Contadini, Golinucci, Casadei, Zannoni, Lazzari; Nanni

Austria Preview

Austria arrives in San Marino for their 2026 World Cup qualifier with strong momentum despite a recent UEFA Nations League playoff defeat to Serbia (1-1, 0-2 aggregate). Ralf Rangnick's side began their World Cup campaign with a dominant 2-1 victory over Romania, fueled by goals from Michael Gregoritsch and Marcel Sabitzer, who earned an 8.1 rating.

Austria's overall form is impressive, with 4 wins, 2 draws, and only 1 loss in their last 7 matches. They've scored an average of 2.00 goals in their World Cup Qualification UEFA matches, with over 2.5 goals being scored in their last 4 such games. 

Austria has dominated San Marino, securing a 4-1 win in 1998 and a resounding 7-0 victory in 1999 during Euro 2000 qualifiers. Although they will miss captain David Alaba (injured), Gernot Trauner returns from suspension. Christoph Baumgartner also remains a key player, despite not scoring against Romania, with a solid 7.5 rating.

Austria Probable Starting Lineup: Pentz; Wimmer, Wober, Lienhart, Mwene; Laimer, Seiwald; Schmid, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Gregoritsch