The situation remains highly exciting in Group H of the European World Cup qualifiers: Because Bosnia-Herzegovina won 3:1 (0:1) against Romania after being down 0:1, Austria's national team has not yet secured its ticket to the final tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

After their 2-0 victory in Cyprus, Ralf Rangnick's team needs a draw in the showdown on Tuesday (8:45 pm, live ticker on nachrichten.at) in the sold-out Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna against second-placed Bosnia-Herzegovina to secure first place and qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.

Romania overwhelmed after exclusion

The big party is postponed, but not canceled. For a long time, it had looked as if everything would be decided on November 15th. Ultimately, they were just 18 minutes away from an early decision.

Romania took a deserved 1-0 lead in the 17th minute through Daniel Birligea in a heated atmosphere in Zenica and could even have extended it to 2-0. However, after a weak first half, Bosnia-Herzegovina rallied and applied sustained pressure. Veteran Edin Dzeko (39) sparked the turnaround shortly after the break, leveling the score at 1-1 in the 49th minute. Following the dismissal of Denis Dragus (68th minute), the momentum finally swung in favor of the hosts.

When 20-year-old Esmir Bajraktarevic (PSV Eindhoven) fired a stunning shot into the top left corner in the 80th minute to make it 2-1, all hell broke loose. At that moment, Austria's World Cup qualification seemed to have slipped away. Haris Tabakovic's goal to make it 3-1 in the 94th minute was merely icing on the cake.

A trio is missing in Vienna

Things are coming to a head. Bosnia-Herzegovina will have to do without Nikola Katic (centre defender), Amar Dedic (right winger) and Tarik Muharemovic (left defender) in Vienna, the trio are suspended due to yellow card accumulation, while Austria's head coach Ralf Rangnick can once again call upon David Alaba and Phillipp Mwene.

Romania is cemented in third place, but still has a chance to qualify for the World Cup via their Nations League ranking.