Having been far away from qualifying for the 1988 European Championships, Austria had parted ways with Yugoslavian manager Branko Elsner, and they had appointed former international Josef Hickersberger to succeed him. The World Cup qualification group had initially seemed one which they could be contenders from, even if they did appear to be something of an unknown quantity. Former greats such as great libero Bruno Pezzey and forward Walter Schachner had retired internationally since the previous qualification, and despite featuring domestically, midfield general Herbert Prohaska had since long not featured in the national team jersey. Thus, they were a young side, with fine defender Heribert Weber the new manager’s only remnant from their fine era of the late 70s and early 80s, which had seen them participate in successive World Cups in 1978 and 1982. Weber would assume the captain’s role in Hickersberger’s team.

Austria played three late summer friendlies before embarking on their qualification. They lost at home to the Brazilian Olympic select, a defeat which soon would be seen in light of their opponents’ Seoul gold medals, and then held their adversaries Hungary to a goalless draw in Budapest, before losing 4-2 in Czechoslovakia. Some players, like relatively young Kurt Russ, Anton Pfeffer, Peter Artner and Manfred Zsak, would feature in all three friendlies, where said Weber had indeed captained the side. They had also featured their latest sale abroad: Striker Toni Polster, who had remained goalless from these fixtures. Hickersberger would line his team up in 5-3-2 in the Soviet Union, where they had been second best almost throughout, despite Artner attempting to stick close to Soviet playmaker Zavarov. There had been a surprise recall for striker Christian Keglevits, who had been an exciting young member of their 1982 World Cup squad.

Only two weeks after the defeat in Kiev, Austria would play their first home qualifier, and they’d overcome a Turkish side which had begun the qualification with a 1-1 home draw against expected fellow group minnows Iceland. The big news was the return of midfield legend Herbert Prohaska to the national team after a three and a half years absence. Despite never being totally convincing, Austria had gone into a 3-0 lead during the second half, after a brace from up and coming midfielder Andy Herzog and a strike from Polster. Turkey would put the Austrian defence to the test, though, and the hosts had been fortunate that they’d left it late until conceding for a second time. They’d hold on for two vital points, setting them up for an interesting 1989.

Austria would play two spring home friendlies, both which would end in one goal defeats; Italy and then Czechoslovakia would prove too strong for their inexperienced side. A trip to Leipzig to play East Germany then resulted in an important 1-1 draw. GDR had recently lost twice to Turkey, who were suddenly emerging as outsiders for the second spot in the table. However, vitally, the Soviet Union had defeated the Turkish a few days before Austria’s tie in East Germany. Polster had notched early against a shaken opponent, although the rest of the game had seen the visitors sit back and try to catch the hosts on the counter. Austria had seen the home side strike late to claim a point. It had been their third successive qualifier in 5-3-2.

The Austrians were heading to Iceland for a mid-summer fixture. Their Reykjavik hosts had recently managed a quite sensational point in the Soviet Union, their second against the group leaders, and so were clearly no pushovers. A shockingly poor 4-1 friendly defeat in Oslo against Norway had preceeded the trip to Iceland, where Austria, in 4-4-2 this time around, like in Norway, had hung on to obtain a highly fortunate point. The hosts had several large goalscoring opportunities in the clash which ended 0-0. Herbert Prohaska, appearing in his third straight qualifier, had since long uttered that he would retire from the playing field following the game in Iceland.

To the day ten weeks after the debacle in the North Atlantic, Austria welcomed home to Salzburg Iceland, and this time around it was a different affair. While Hickersberger had decided to abandon the 4-4-2 formation which had not worked them well yet, he set his side up in an attacking 4-3-3 as they were searching their second win of the qualification. It took them until the second half to move in front through Salzburg favourite Heimo Pfeifenberger, appearing in his inaugural qualifier, although Iceland had pegged them back immediately after. Then a wonder strike from Manfred Zsak saw the Austrians claim both points in a game which they had dominated, even if the islanders had threatened through not least lively forward Grétarsson.

Six points from five matches saw Austria in pole position in the group ahead of their home clash with the Soviet Union. A draw seemed to be in the interest of their visitors, too, and so a 0-0 outcome always seemed likely in a drab game. ‘Pepi’ had once again decided to deploy that 4-4-2 formation which had earlier failed them, although against a static USSR team they had rarely been threatened. Zsak had come close to opening the scoring with a first half header, though ultimately a point had been a good return. An October friendly win in Malta (2-1) was their preparation ahead of a vital trip to Istanbul to play a rejuvenated Turkish side.

In 4-4-2 once again, Austria were undressed by an impulsive home side. The three goal margin with which Turkey had won had been thoroughly deserved. They’d put a poor Austrian side to the wall, and there had been very few bright points from that display as far as Hickersberger was concerned. They had tried to change things around at half time, taking midfielder Artner off for a third striker in Gerhard Rodax, but to little avail. Austria had failed to live with the aggression and enthusiasm of their hosts, and they would not have to wait and see whether they could claim World Cup qualification on the final day of qualification. They would invite home to Vienna an East German outfit which were on a rollercoaster ride hitherto in the qualification.

Praterstadion was packed to the rafters as Austria scored early to gain control of their unfocused visitors. The 3-5-2 formation seemed to serve them well, as they won the midfield battle. It was to be their sole foreign based player Toni Polster’s big night: The burly forward scored no less than three times as they overwhelmed their visitors. Polster laid claim to the group’s top goalscorer’s title with five, and it was a performance which had deserved the Austrians the two points. With the outcome in Simferopol going their way at the same time, no one could longer deny Austria a place in the World Cup. They had qualified as runners-up from their group.