Marcel Sabitzer fires 10-man Austria to victory over Tunisia ahead of World Cup

Marcel Sabitzer's second-half winner secured a third consecutive victory for Ralf Rangnick's side in their final home fixture before departing for North America.

The hosts started positively, but Tunisia created the better chances during the opening period. Hannibal Mejbri came close to opening the scoring when his dangerous free-kick crashed against the crossbar, while Firas Chaouat struck the post from close range after a clever attacking move.

Austria's task became significantly harder in the 37th minute when Konrad Laimer was sent off for deliberate handball following a VAR review. Tunisia immediately looked to make their extra player count and nearly took the lead when Anis Ben Slimane's powerful free-kick rattled the crossbar. Goalkeeper Alexander Schlager then produced an important save to deny Chaouat before half-time.

Rangnick responded by making five substitutions at the break, and the changes helped steady Austria's challenge. The hosts showed greater organisation after the restart and began to threaten on the counterattack.

Their reward arrived in the 63rd minute. Johan Manzambi released Stefan Posch down the right flank, and the defender's measured pass found Sabitzer, who fired home from distance to continue his impressive scoring run.

Austria remained disciplined in the closing stages and nearly doubled their advantage when Posch struck the woodwork. Tunisia pushed for an equaliser but could not find a way past a determined Austrian defence.

After the match, Rangnick praised his players for adapting to the setback of Laimer's dismissal and maintaining their tactical discipline.

"But I thought it was impressive how we found our feet again in that difficult phase," said the Austria coach.

"The lads who came in showed that they wanted to be there. It was a tremendous team effort from everyone, an extremely strong team performance."

The result extends Austria's winning streak to three matches and means they have suffered just one defeat in their last 11 games. Attention now turns to their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign, with a Group J opener against Jordan awaiting later this month in California.

Tunisia face Belgium in Brussels in their final warm-up match before beginning their Group F campaign against Sweden.