Austria face reigning European champions Spain for a place in the World Cup round of 16 tonight at the Los Angeles Stadium. Ralf Rangnick's side finished second in Group J behind Argentina, with four points from draws against Algeria and a win over Jordan.
Goalkeeper and Defence
Alexander Schlager, Austria's No.1 from Red Bull Salzburg, will be busy against Spain, who have one of the lowest shots-on-target percentages (29.1%) among remaining teams. David Alaba, now a free agent after his Real Madrid contract expired, brings vast experience at 34. Stefan Posch has continued playing despite a broken jaw sustained in the opening game, highlighting his importance. Kevin Danso, a Tottenham defender, is familiar to Premier League fans but is not a guaranteed starter.
Midfield and Attack
Carney Chukwuemeka, formerly of Chelsea and now at Borussia Dortmund, chose to represent Austria despite playing for England at youth level. Xaver Schlager (RB Leipzig) faces a tough task against Spain's midfield, while Nicolas Seiwald does the dirty work alongside him. Romano Schmid scored Austria's first World Cup goal since 1990 in their win over Jordan. Marcel Sabitzer, ex-Manchester United and Bayern Munich, has played every minute so far. Konrad Laimer, a key part of Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich, does a bit of everything. Marko Arnautovic, now 37, leads the line and has scored two goals in three games. Paul Wanner, 20, moved from Bayern to PSV and won the Eredivisie title. Sasa Kalajdzic, formerly of Wolves, suffered three ACL injuries in five years but came off the bench to score a 96th-minute equaliser against Algeria, sending Austria through.
