Austria without 4 regulars for Wales, Georgia qualifiers

By AP
Published

VIENNA (AP) Austria will be without four injured regulars for the World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Georgia next month.

Goalkeeper Robert Almer and midfielders Zlatko Junuzovic, Valentino Lazaro and Alessandro Schoepf were all missing from the 23-man squad announced by coach Marcel Koller on Tuesday.

Also, Florian Grillitsch and Guido Burgstaller still had to get fit in time for the Wales game, said Koller, who called up defenders Maximilian Woeber and Moritz Bauer for the first time.

Austria plays Wales in Cardiff on Sept. 2 and hosts Georgia in Vienna three days later.

With four rounds left, Ireland and Serbia share the lead in Group D, and four points behind are Austria and Wales. Only the group winner is guaranteed a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.