Austria’s record-breaking player Marko Arnautovic is just three goals away from Toni Polster’s record. Polster has come to terms with losing his prestigious title, but still wants to fight for recognition for three more goals.
On Thursday, Marko Arnautovic will have the opportunity to close in on Toni Polster’s goal record for the Austrian national team—or even equal or surpass it. Arnautovic has scored 41 times for the ÖFB team, three fewer than Polster, and now he could add to his tally against the world’s lowest-ranked team. In the first match against the team from the small country in June, Arnautovic scored twice, but he also missed a penalty.
The 36-year-old is already the ÖFB’s record international with 127 caps. Should he actually catch up with Polster, who holds both prestigious records, a current ÖFB colleague could make it into the top ten in his shadow. Marcel Sabitzer is currently eleventh with 23 goals – just one goal behind Karl Zischek in tenth place. Even Johann Horvath (29), who is currently in fourth place, is within Sabitzer’s reach in the medium term. Other current team players could also move up in the all-time rankings: Michael Gregoritsch is currently 14th (21 goals) and Christoph Baumgartner 15th (19). There is a good chance of increasing their personal goal tallies, as Austria has won all three of its matches against San Marino so far, with a goal difference of 15:1.
A win against the small country would be the ÖFB team’s fifth competitive victory in a row. The last time the team performed so well was during the EURO 2016 qualifiers, when they set the record that still stands today with nine wins in a row. The last time they won five international matches in a row was from October to November 2020, but these were three Nations League matches and two test matches.
Polster continues to demand “that this error be corrected”
Polster has now come to terms with the loss of the prestigious title: “I assume that Marko will break the record. He has played many more games than I did.” The 61-year-old played 95 times for the ÖFB team. “There’s no sadness about it. I’m very, very happy that I held this record for so many years,” said Polster, who has been able to boast the title of record goalscorer since 1996, almost three decades ago. At that time, he surpassed “Goleador” Hans Krankl, who had scored 34 times. If Arnautovic breaks his record, Polster wants to “congratulate him, and that’s it,” as he dryly remarked.
He also plans to fight for official recognition of three of his ÖFB appearances in the 1980s, including three goals, which the ÖFB considers unofficial. Polster sued for retroactive recognition, but the Vienna Regional Court for Civil Matters rejected the claim in 2024. Specifically, the cases concern the matches Liechtenstein vs. Austria (0-6 on June 7, 1984, in Vaduz, one goal by Polster), Tunisia vs. Austria (1-3 on February 7, 1987, in Tunis, two goals by Polster) and Morocco vs. Austria (3-1 on February 2, 1988, no goal by Polster).
Polster wants to seek a meeting with the new ÖFB Supervisory Board Chairman Josef Pröll. “I hope that he will take up the matter and recognize that it is a mistake on the part of the ÖFB and that this mistake will be corrected,” said Polster, who currently coaches the regional league team Wiener Viktoria. “It also affects ÖFB employees such as Manfred Zsak and Peter Schöttel. I have the feeling that everyone at the ÖFB wants this, except for the lawyer who is being sent in.”