Austria take on the visitors Bosnia and Herzegovina in a World Cup 2026 qualification match. The match will be played on Tuesday, November 18th at
Austria had not appeared at such tournaments since the end of the last century. Yet at the European Championship they have long been regular participants and consistently reach the playoffs — as they did last year. On the other hand, their Nations League campaign was far from successful, ending in a playoff defeat to Serbia in March. But the World Cup qualification has finally gone well. They opened it with five straight victories and could have secured first place early, but in October they lost away to Romania. They began this window with a match in Cyprus, where they calmly won thanks to an Arnautović brace, moving even closer to a long-awaited World Cup return. Moreover, Austria have shown a steady defensive structure throughout the campaign, rarely allowing opponents meaningful chances. Their overall consistency, both home and away, has made them one of the most reliable sides of this qualifying cycle.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
Bosnia tried to display their strengths. “The Lilies” played at their only major tournament — the World Cup in Brazil — and have not qualified for another big event since. They could have achieved much more, but Džeko and company were regularly let down by poor performances in playoff matches. Last year they again fell short at home, losing tamely to Ukraine. This time the qualification campaign has been impressive, with the sole defeat coming against the group favourite, Austria, at a time when the Austrians were in peak form. Otherwise, Bosnia managed to defeat not only San Marino and Cyprus but also Romania, one of the potential group leaders, right at the start. Their only setback was a disappointing trip to Cyprus, where they led 2-0 in the first half but allowed the outsider to equalise with a penalty in the sixth minute of added time. Thus the previous round became decisive: they conceded first to Romania at home and lost the first half, but turned the match around and won 3-1 while playing with an extra man, distancing themselves from their direct rival. In addition, Bosnia have looked more balanced offensively in recent months, confidently creating scoring chances against teams of various styles. Their renewed stability allowed them to stay competitive in nearly every match of this qualification.
In the first five meetings the teams had one victory each. Only now have Arnautović and company pulled ahead in this matchup. The visitors are still the weaker side. We back the hosts to win by more than one goal — expecting a “-1.5 goals” handicap.
Prediction for the match: Austria to win with -1.5 handicap.
