Georgia Plays Soccer: Issue 4, part 1

The Austrian Men’s National Team boasts a 4-0 record in 2026 World Cup Qualifying matches, positioning the team at No. 2 in their group. The Union of European Football Associations contains 12 groups of four to five teams. When the group stage qualifying process wraps up in November, the top 12 teams will advance directly to the World Cup, while the 12 runners-up will enter the playoff system— Austria hunting for one of these seeds.

Austria defeated No. 3 Romania 2-1 then last place San Marino 4-0 in June 2025. In September, the team went up one to win over No. 4 Cyprus and No. 1 Bosnia and Herzegovina. With Bosnia and Herzegovina and Austria level with four wins, and Austria having played one less match, no team in this group will be able to book their spot in the World Cup based on October matches.

“I think every match is similar, even in this group, and that’s why there’s so much anticipation around it,” Austrian midfielder Romano Schmid said in an interview with FIFA. “We know the quality of our opponents, but we’re confident that we’ll put up a good fight.”

Marcel Sabitzer leads the scoring for Austria in World Cup Qualifying matches, with three goals, while Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic trail the lead with two apiece. Sabitzer and Arnautovic join the top assists category with one, along with three other Austrian players.

Looking ahead, Austria’s rematch with San Marino will take place on Thursday and Romania on Sunday, as the team searches for repeat wins. Its final matches versus Cyprus and Bosnia and Herzegovina are scheduled for Nov. 15 and Nov. 18.

Drew Renner

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored four goals to lead Gabon to a 4-3 comeback win over Gambia in a Group F World Cup qualifier on Oct. 10 at Moi International Sports Centre.

Aubameyang struck in the 20th, 42nd, 62nd and 78th minutes, with each goal assisted by a different teammate, showcasing Gabon’s varied attacking options. His dominant performance ended early when he was sent off in the 85th minute after receiving a second yellow card.

The victory kept Gabon (7-1-1) in second place in Group F, one point behind Ivory Coast (7-2-0), which defeated Seychelles (0-0-9) 7-0. Ivory Coast holds a +22 goal differential, compared with Gabon’s +11. The two sides played to a scoreless draw in their Sept. 9 meeting in Gabon.

Gabon will next face Burundi on Oct. 14 at Stade de Franceville. Burundi enters on a three-match losing streak. Gabon is winless in its last three meetings with Burundi (0-1-2), including a 2-1 loss on Nov. 19, 2023.

The match is considered a must-win for Gabon, which has never qualified for a World Cup.

Wesley Webb

After dropping its last two games to Scotland and Denmark, Greece will need to be near-perfect in its final three games to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup through the group stages. Greece opened this international break with a heartbreaking 3-1 loss to Scotland to sink the Greeks into a four-point hole in Group C.

The Greeks will face Denmark in Copenhagen this Sunday, Oct. 12, in a pivotal clash with just three group stage matches remaining. Denmark and Scotland sit joint-first with both sides on seven points, while Greece lags behind with just three. Scotland will face last-place Belarus on Sunday, as well.

Greece will round out group stage play with Scotland and Belarus in the November international break. The Greeks will likely have to pick up at least seven points from these next three to have a chance to win the group as both Denmark and Scotland will be heavily favored over Belarus.

If Greece fails to win the group to qualify directly or finish second and brave the playoffs, it will be eliminated from contention for a spot in the 2026 World Cup. It will be a challenge for the Greeks, but they are not out of the race yet.

Jack Little

Israel, ranked No. 3 in its Union of European Football Associations qualifying group, holds a 3-2 record in 2026 World Cup qualifying.

UEFA’s 12 groups, each with four or five teams, will send the top team in each group directly to the World Cup. Each runner-up will advance to the playoff round.

Israel most recently fell to No. 2 Italy in a 5-4 loss after defeating last-place Moldova 4-0 a few days earlier. Israel also beat No. 4 Estonia twice this year — by one goal in March and two in June — but lost 4-2 to No. 1 Norway in March. Norway’s goal differential of +21, compared with Italy’s +5, puts it in a strong position in the group if it can defeat Austria on Saturday and Estonia in November.

Dor Peretz has scored three goals in Israel’s five matches, while Manor Solomon leads the team with four assists. Dan Biton and Mohammad Abu Fani have scored two goals each, and seven other Israeli players have recorded an assist.

Israel will face Norway again on Saturday, followed by Italy on Tuesday. Despite Udine Mayor Alberto Felice De Toni calling for a postponement of the Italy match due to security concerns, the Italian soccer federation has not canceled the game. With no other UEFA member teams refusing to play Israel, the union has not considered suspension. Israeli coach Ran Ben-Shimon said he is standing behind his country.

“I’m a man of peace,” Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said. “It hurts to see people and children losing their lives. We’re here to play our game, but there’s respect and pain for what is happening.”

Israel’s final qualifier is scheduled for Nov. 16 against Moldova.

Drew Renner

In their first match since October, the New Caledonia national team defeated Gibraltar 2-0 in a friendly match. The first half of the match was scoreless with both teams putting up a defensive battle. However, Gibraltar maintained majority of the possession and had better offensive scoring opportunities that didn’t follow through. The second half of the match was where New Caledonia began to reign in the lead with a score in the 61st minute by Jean-Jacques Katrawa. After that goal, Gibraltar failed to respond and even faced a critical red card to put New Caledonia back in scoring position. In the extra time of the match, the team capitalized off of the Gibraltar red card with a goal by Germain Haewegene, making the final score of the match 2-0.

New Caledonia’s World Cup chances will be tested in the intercontinental playoff in March 2026. Here they have a chance to play six other teams with two World Cup spots on the line. They secured a spot in this tournament by finishing as runners-up in the OFC World Cup qualifying competition back in March 2025.

Virginia Miller

Ukraine tops Iceland 5-3 in Euro qualifier to move into second place

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — Ukraine earned its first win of European Championship qualification in a 5-3 thriller against Iceland on Oct. 12, leapfrogging its hosts into second place in Group D.

Genoa midfielder Ruslan Malinovskyi opened the scoring in the 14th minute. Venezia’s Mikael Egill Ellertsson equalized in the 35th, but Oleksii Hutsuliak restored Ukraine’s lead just before halftime. Malinovskyi then added his second in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-1.

Iceland battled back in the second half behind Fiorentina’s Albert Gudmundsson, who scored in the 59th and again in the 75th to bring the match level. Ukraine responded late, as Ivan Kaliuzhnyi struck in the 85th minute before Shakhtar Donetsk’s Oleh Ocheretko sealed the win three minutes later.

Despite the loss, Iceland controlled much of the match, holding 62% possession, generating 40 attacks to Ukraine’s 23 and completing 567 passes compared with Ukraine’s 279.

The victory was crucial for Ukraine, which now sits second behind France. That position would secure a playoff berth, as Ukraine did not earn automatic qualification through Nations League play.

Ukraine will host Azerbaijan in Kraków, Poland, on Oct. 13 before closing the window with key November fixtures: at France on Nov. 13 and against Iceland in Warsaw on Nov. 16.

Jake Branan