Vienna: Ralf Rangnick's Austria fought back from a goal down to draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina, securing qualification for the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998. Bosnia-Herzegovina required a victory to ensure their own qualification and initially took the lead in the 12th minute with a goal from Haris Tabakovic.

According to BBC, Michael Gregoritsch equalised for Austria in the 77th minute, reacting swiftly to score after Austria hit the crossbar, leveling the match at 1-1. Bosnia-Herzegovina, despite being one goal away from direct qualification, now faces the challenge of the play-offs, needing to win two single-leg ties to join Austria in next summer's finals in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

Austria has a storied World Cup history, finishing third in 1954 and fourth in 1934. However, the team missed the past six tournaments after a disappointing group phase exit in 1998 without a single win. Rangnick, who managed Manchester United on an interim basis in 2021-22, took charge of the Austrian team in May 2022.

Under Rangnick's guidance, Austria reached the Euro 2024 last 16, defeating Poland and the Netherlands before a narrow 2-1 loss to Turkey. In their World Cup qualifying campaign, Austria topped Group H, winning six matches, drawing one, and losing one, accumulating 19 points, two more than Bosnia-Herzegovina.