Austria coach: Jesse Marsch

Marsch, who was appointed in May last year, was nothing short of a trailblazer during his playing days, having lined up in the inaugural season of Major League Soccer back in 1996. After amassing over 300 appearances in North America's top flight, he embarked on a coaching career that began with stints at Montreal Impact and New York Red Bulls before he headed to Europe, where he occupied the hot seat at Salzburg, Leipzig and Leeds United.

Austria's World Cup history

• Confederation: Concacaf
• Best World Cup: Group stage (1986, 2022)
• Last World Cup: Qatar 2022 (group stage)
• First World Cup: Mexico 1986
• World Cup appearances: Three (1986, 2022, 2026)
• Current run of successive qualifications: Two
• World Cup hosts: 2026
• Overall World Cup record: P6 W0 D0 L6 F2 A12

Austria's first World Cup

The North Americans' first taste of World Cup action came at Mexico 1986. Having finishing top of a qualifying group that contained Guatemala and Haiti, the Canadians were drawn in a pool with France, Hungary and Soviet Union. After Jean-Pierre Papin's header condemned Tony Waiters' troops to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Les Bleus, they then fell to consecutive 2-0 losses against Hungary and an Oleg Blokhin-inspired Soviet Union.

Austria's last World Cup

Canada secured their spot at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ after topping their Concacaf third-round qualifying group. A daunting-looking pool lay in wait on Arab soil, and despite a chance-laden opening salvo that rattled Belgium, the Canadians fell just short, ultimately losing 1-0. In their next encounter, against Croatia, Alphonso Davies netted a historic goal in just the second minute in a contest in which the Canucks slipped to a 4-1 defeat. Their campaign came to an end with a 2-1 reverse against eventual semi-finalists Morocco.