Three days after the 3-0 away win over vice-world champions Croatia, Austria lost 1-2 (0-1) against Denmark at the home premiere of team manager Ralf Rangnick. The match had started one and a half hours late due to a power failure in the second district of Vienna, and at 0.08 the unfortunate defeat in Vienna’s Ernst Happel Stadium was sealed.
The red-white-red selection can still take a lot of positive things into the third group match of the UEFA Nations League. On Friday (8.45 p.m.) world champions France will be guests in the sold-out Prater Oval.
“We have to analyze it now”
The sting of disappointment runs deep, of course. More would have been possible against the semi-finalists of the last EURO. ÖFB midfielder Xaver Schlager, who scored his second country match goal to make it 1-1 in the meantime, also knows this. “We have to analyze that now and, above all, deal with the small things. Because they are when you don’t achieve a sense of achievement as a better team,” said the Wolfsburg legionnaire, who comes from St. Valentin. “The late kick-off didn’t throw us off track. Of course, it’s difficult to keep the tension high for so long. But we managed it quite well.”
“We see Ralf Rangnick on the pitch”
Denmark’s team boss Kasper Hjulmand was not sparing with compliments for the narrowly beaten opponent. “It was very difficult for us. The Austrian team pressed very hard, but I always believed in victory. It has to be said that we were lucky. We see Ralf Rangnick on the pitch – what he wants, what he does. Austria played a very good game.” Indeed.
“I am not ready yet”
Bologna legionnaire Marko Arnautovic, who came on after a change of sides, also did well in his 100th country match. He was dynamic, dangerous in front of the opponent’s goal, gifted with ideas but not accompanied by fortune. The left pole prevented the 2:1 lead. “We should have won the game. They played on the counterattack, he scored the goal. What are you saying? We lost with bad luck. We didn’t take our chances. If I shoot a little more to the right, the ball is in and we take the win home with us,” said the jubilee: “Of course I’m proud that I’ve played 100 games. But now it’s going on – I’m not done yet .”
Praise and criticism
Ralf Rangnick is only at the beginning of his mission, but the handwriting of the 63-year-old German – as confirmed by Hjulmand – is clearly recognizable. If things continue in this way, Austria’s football fans will still have a lot of fun with their national team. “At the moment the result doesn’t feel good at all. We would have deserved at least the point. We haven’t done everything as we would like in our own possession, but we didn’t always make the right decision, especially in the last third. We still had chances for three games,” said the former Manchester United manager.
“In terms of the energy and power we put on the pitch, no one can say we didn’t put everything into it. That was great. We didn’t do everything right when we had possession of the ball, so we definitely need more ball stability and more precision. If everything were going perfectly now, it wouldn’t be normal either,” explained Rangnick.
ÖFB team captain David Alaba just didn’t like the result. “The way we performed today is something I really like. We are in a process where we are evolving. Where we see that not only do we have the potential and the quality, but if you look at the last two games, we really bring the quality to the pitch. That’s how you can look to the future,” said the Real Madrid star.
Source: Nachrichten
