Play came to an abrupt halt during Austria’s 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Cyprus when a sinkhole unexpectedly emerged on the field late in the second half.
The unusual event took place around the 75th minute when Danish referee Jakob Kehlet stopped the game after spotting a large hole near the Austrian goalkeeper, Alexander Schlager’s area at the Raiffeisen Arena in Linz.
The hole was big enough to engulf a whole soccer ball, prompting the ground crew to quickly bring buckets of sand in a desperate effort to fill it.
Following over seven minutes of fixing, Kehlet allowed the match to proceed, with Austria ultimately securing a 1-0 victory thanks to Marcel Sabitzer’s penalty in the second half — scored before the ground incident occurred.
Part of the pitch collapsed during the Austria vs. Cyprus match. Ground staff hurried with buckets of soil to address the issue. It’s a rare sight to see! pic.twitter.com/OECrF5jiGk
— Harry Symeou (@HarrySymeou) September 6, 2025
The win means Austria are now second in Group H qualifying, having won all three of their games so far, behind also unbeaten Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first occurrence of such an incident in Austrian football. In 2022, during a Nations League game against Denmark, which Austria lost 2-1, at the Ernst Happel Stadium, a large sinkhole also disrupted the match.
At least this time Austria still managed to dig out the three points – though maybe someone in should be calling a geologist before the next fixture.
