Today, June 10, fans would’ve enjoyed of an international friendly between Austria and Guatemala at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. However, the game was canceled nearly a month before the scheduled kickoff date.
On May 13, Guatemala’s soccer federation (Federacion de Futbol de Guatemala) released a statement explaining that the Austria friendly had to be called off because FIFA didn’t approve the fixture.
“The Guatemala national team is preparing to play several high-level international friendly matches in U.S. territory during the FIFA match window of June 2026. As part of the match schedule, a game against the Austria National Team had been programmed for June 10. However, the FFG has received a notification stating that FIFA does not endorse the staging of said match,” the statement read.
Guatemala’s June friendlies without the Austria game
Without FIFA’s approval to play a third game in the June international window, Guatemala had to settle with the two friendlies they were authorized to play in the United States.
🗒️ FFG INFORMA pic.twitter.com/TTv2FHNO68
— FFG🇬🇹 (@fedefut_oficial) May 13, 2026
On June 4, Luis Fernando Tena’s men suffered a 3-1 loss to Czechia at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. Three days later, Guatemala were handed a 3-0 defeat by Ecuador at Scotts Miracle-Gro Field in Columbus, Ohio.
Even though the results weren’t great, these games allowed Los Chapines to test themselves against strong teams set to compete at the 2026 World Cup, unlike Guatemala.
Thefore, a third match against another World Cup opponent like Austria would’ve further helped Tena’s team, which is aiming to grow with the 2030 World Cup Qualifying cycle in sight.
Austria’s June activity before the 2026 World Cup
Without the Guatemala fixture, Austria seized the pre-World Cup international window to face Tunisia, who are also playing in the 2026 event. It was a 1-0 win for the European side, which is now ready to compete in Group J against defending world champions Argentina, Algeria, and Jordan.
