Austria – Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Vienna, the rivals will at least once upset the goalkeepers.

In Group H, the last round will also bring a match between direct competitors for qualification for the World Cup. In this group, San Marino and Cyprus were initially considered outsiders, while the battle for a place in the 2026 World Cup was expected to be between Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Austria. The Romanians quickly made it clear that they would not participate in the competition for key positions, shining only with one victory against three defeats in their meetings with competitors. Before the final round, two teams have mathematical chances for first place. Austria leads with eighteen points, while Bosnia and Herzegovina occupies second position with sixteen. This means that a draw at home would suffice for the Austrians, while their opponent is forced to fight for three points. The Bosnians allowed this situation by losing to competitors in their first meeting. In September in Zenica, the opponents exchanged goals in the 59th and 60th minutes, but Bayern midfielder Konrad Laimer subsequently managed to score the decisive goal, tipping the balance in favor of the Austrians. Bookmakers have identified the home team as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.35 for their victory. Undoubtedly, Austria is a stronger football team with better squad potential. In the first seven rounds, the Austrians won six times, losing only in the away match against the Romanians. Overall, the Austrians had a good qualifying campaign. Before the final match for World Cup qualification, the only concerning fact is that Austria conceded goals in all three previous matches against Romania (twice) and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This situation cannot fully reassure Austrian fans. Bosnia and Herzegovina has beaten the Romanian team twice but lost to the Austrians in Zenica as mentioned earlier. Considering their failure in the qualification for EURO 2024 and a very weak performance in League A of the Nations League, the Bosnians probably made a step forward. Before the final qualifying match, the players of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team feel a bit simpler psychologically. They cannot drop below second place, which means they have nothing to lose. Let’s bet that Džeko and company will at least manage to exchange goals with the favorites of the match.