New York, June 9 (IANS) Austria are set to establish a new record at the FIFA World Cup 2026 for having the tallest player ever to play in the 96-year history of the tournament.

Austrian goalkeeper Florian Wiegele, who plays his club football for Viktoria Plzen in the Czech first division, stands at an impressive two meters and five centimetres in height, which is six feet and nine and a half inches tall.

That means that although he is not exactly head and shoulders above Dutch goalkeeper Andries Noppert (2.03 metres), who was at the Qatar World Cup and the previous tallest player in a World Cup squad, he is still taller, while other tall footballers, such as England’s Peter Crouch at 2.01 metres and Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 1.95 metres, are basically in his shadow, reports Xinhua.

Wiegele, whose only international appearance was against Ghana in a March friendly game, is the third-choice goalkeeper in the Austrian squad behind Alexander Schlager and Patrick Pentz.

Austria are placed in Group J in the expanded 48-team World Cup along with defending champions Argentina, Algeria, and Jordan.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men’s soccer championship, which will be played from June 11 to July 19, 2026. It will be jointly hosted by sixteen cities—eleven in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada.

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 introducing a new 48-team format, the group stage has become more fascinating than ever. Twelve groups, 72 group-stage matches, and eight third-placed teams also advancing means every group has its own unique narrative, pressure points, and potential surprises.

Unlike previous World Cups, the expanded 48-team format means every group-stage result carries additional significance. A slow start or a poor result in one match can immediately increase pressure heading into the next. For several title contenders, the challenge isn’t just who they play, it’s who they play next too.

–IANS

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