Austria vs. South Korea – News and Probable Lineups

This Tuesday, South Korea will make their inaugural appearance against Austria at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna for a friendly match.

Austria had a convincing victory against Ghana, winning 5-1 on Friday, while South Korea faced a heavier defeat, losing 4-0 to Ivory Coast the following day.

Match overview

As they gear up for their first World Cup participation of this century, there is a palpable sense of optimism surrounding Austria, and rightly so.

Defensively, throughout the qualification phase, they allowed only four goals and recorded just a single defeat in eight matches to finish atop Group H.

Under Ralf Rangnick, Austria remains unbeaten in their last nine international fixtures played in Vienna, with their last defeat in the Austrian capital coming in a Euro qualifier against Belgium in 2024 (3-2).

A win on Tuesday would make it three wins in four instances where this team has kicked off a calendar year with back-to-back victories.

The team hasn’t suffered a loss after scoring first since their defeat to Israel (4-2) in March 2019.

It will also be their first encounter with an Asian team since the 2007 Tournament of Continents, where they managed a 0-0 draw with Japan in Austria and won on penalties 4-3.

Following a strong finish to 2025, South Korea faced a setback in their opening match of this year.

In that game held in England, Hong Myung-Bo’s squad conceded four goals, which was more than they had allowed in their previous three internationals combined.

On Tuesday, they are looking to prevent consecutive losses for the first time since March to June of 2023.

The national team has dropped points in two of their last three matches played away from South Korea, with their most recent victory as visitors being a friendly win over the United States in New Jersey last September (2-0).

When scoring the first goal, South Korea has gone on to win their last eight games without conceding a goal during that stretch.

The Taegeuk Warriors aim to secure a victory against a European side for the first time this week since the 2022 World Cup when they narrowly beat Portugal 2-1 in the group stage.

Team News

Austria may be without Konrad Laimer on Tuesday due to knee discomfort sustained prior to their friendly against Ghana, while Patrick Wimmer is dealing with a muscle strain and Raul Florucz is recovering from a muscle injury.

Marcel Sabitzer, Michael Gregoritsch, Stefan Posch, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Nicolas Seiwald all found the back of the net against Ghana, with Sabitzer and Gregoritsch currently tied for 10th in all-time goals for the senior team, just two behind eighth place.

On the South Korean side, Lee Kang-in came on as a substitute on Saturday despite having a sore foot, and Jens Castrop was an unused substitute for the same reason, while Hwang In-beom is contending with an ankle issue.

Son Heung-min remains four goals behind Cha Bum-kun for the all-time record, while the record holder is pursuing his first international goal since November.

Austria probable starting XI:

Wiegele; Mwene, Danso, Alaba, Wober; Seiwald, Wanner; Schmid, Baumgartner, Sabitzer; Arnautovic

South Korea probable starting XI:

Hyeon-woo; Han-beom, Min-jae, Ju-sung; Moon-hwan, Jin-gyu, Seung-ho, Ji-sung; Jun-ho, Hee-chan; Heung-min

Austria seems well-prepared to challenge top-tier nations, and Rangnick has effectively maintained their sharpness; we anticipate their defensive solidity will trouble the Asian side on Tuesday.