Looking to bounce back from last month’s defeat to Romania, Austria made a positive start to proceedings, requiring less than 20 minutes to open the scoring from the penalty spot against their hosts whose qualification hopes were already over.
Veteran forward Arnautovic kept his composure to fire his penalty out of Fabiano’s reach, after Anderson Correia had been penalised for a clumsy challenge on Christoph Baumgartner.
The goalkeeper could not stop Arnautovic from netting the all-important opener, but he was able to make a smart stop to prevent Marcel Sabitzer from doubling the advantage before the 30-minute mark.
The busy goalkeeper was also required to react to Nicolas Seiwald’s effort to ensure his country remained just one goal behind at the half-time interval in Limassol.
Despite the narrow scoreline, there was a sense that it would be a question of whether Austria could add to their tally rather than whether Cyprus could mount a second-half fightback.
Arnautovic certainly adhered to that theory, scoring his second of the game after being sent through on goal by Kevin Danso.
The former Inter striker cleverly chopped onto his left foot to roll the ball past Fabiano to register the 47th goal of his international career, moving him three clear at the top of Austria’s all-time top scorers list.
That proved to be the striker’s final act of the contest before being replaced as part of a double substitution that saw Michael Gregoritsch and Kevin Wimmer enter the fray. Wimmer threatened to build upon Arnautović’s fine work when he struck the upright in a bid to score his first international goal since June 2024.
There was ultimately no need for a third as Ralf Rangnick’s charges professionally saw out the encounter to move five points clear at the top of Group H, knowing their qualification will be sealed by the end of the night if Bosnia and Herzegovina fail to beat Romania.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marko Arnautovic (Austria)