Marcel Sabitzer scored a second-half winner for 10-man Austria as they overcame early fears to beat Tunisia 1-0 in a World Cup warm-up international at the Ernst Happel Stadium on Monday.
Sabitzer, who won his 98th cap, scored a square pass from Stefan Posch’s right flank to break the deadlock in the 63rd minute.
Austria, preparing for this month’s tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States, took a back seat after Konrad Laimer was sent off in the 37th minute for a deliberate handball that denied Tunisia a goal-scoring opportunity.
The North Africans, who are also World Cup bound, hit the woodwork three times in the first half through Hannibal Mejbri, Firas Chaouat and a curling free-kick from Anis Ben Slimane.
Austria showed great resilience in fighting back after the break, and could have gone two-up a minute after Sabitzer’s goal, with Tunisian goalkeeper Abdelmouhib Chamakh pushing substitute Marco Friedl’s effort onto the post, and Posch then hitting the rebound onto the crossbar.
Austria opens its Group J campaign at the World Cup against Jordan in San Francisco on June 16, while Tunisia has another warm-up match against Belgium in Brussels on Saturday before heading to Monterrey in Mexico, where Sweden is the first opponent in Group F on June 14.
Published on June 2, 2026
