The Austria national football team (commonly referred to as "Austria", English name: Austria national football team) was founded in 1904 and is a national-level football team managed by the Austrian Football Association.
Prior to the 1938 World Cup in France, the Austrian team qualified for the final round but was forced to withdraw due to the political events of the German-Austrian merger. This team truly emerged on the world stage at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, where they overcame all obstacles, defeated the host nation Switzerland 7-5 in the quarter-finals, and ultimately achieved third place, creating the best record in the team's history.
In the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, they overcame Brazil to finish first in their group and defeated the defending champions West Germany in the second round. In the 1982 World Cup in Spain, a controversy arose due to the "match-fixing" incident with West Germany, which directly led to FIFA reforming the tournament format, stipulating that the last round of group matches must be played simultaneously.
In the 1998 World Cup in France, although the Austrian team was eliminated in the group stage, they left a unique phenomenon of "goals in the final moments." In the three matches against Cameroon, Chile, and Italy, they scored goals in the late stages of the game. Entering the 21st century, Austria achieved breakthroughs in the European Championship. In the 2020 European Championship, they qualified for the round of 16 for the first time, and in 2024, they even topped the "group of death," defeating France and the Netherlands, although they were ultimately eliminated in the round of 16.