Ralf Rangnick’s debut as Austrian football team boss could not have gone much better. On the debut of the German, the ÖFB selection celebrated a 3-0 win against Croatia in the Nations League on Friday, winning for the first time after five defeats against the reigning runner-up and inflicting their first defeat in the 14th game in Osijek. Nevertheless, Rangnick’s analysis was deliberately sober, and the 63-year-old did not show excessive joy.
“I don’t think we’re going to get any euphoric,” said Rangnick. “The result sounds fantastic, but for me it’s more important how we performed after the changeover.” After half an hour, his selection had changed from three to four – before that the Austrians were under pressure, after that the tide turned. “We had problems in the first 20, 25 minutes, and not only against the ball. We hardly managed to put the opponent under pressure and gave the ball away too quickly,” said the coach. “It could have been 1-0 or 2-0 for Croatia.”
Various formations possible
The change was good for the team. “And the goal just before half-time helped us, of course. Then fresh people helped stabilize us.” The second half was entirely to Rangnick’s taste. “We didn’t allow anything, scored wonderful goals and could have scored two or three more.”
However, this does not mean that only the back four will be announced in the future. Rangnick: “In principle, a back three is of course also possible with this team. But today’s game showed that with one man more in midfield we had more chances with and against the ball.”
“Were lucky too”
Before the change, there was a lack of balance. “We were also a bit lucky in this phase. But overall it was of course a good start in the Nations League,” Rangnick summed it up. The coach was optimistic about the future. “It was a start, it was the first game in a difficult group, but I think the game in the last hour showed what is possible with this team, what quality they have.”
In the end, the ÖFB team won their first competitive game against a team that is ahead of them in the world rankings since September 2008 (3-1 against France). The success was a “big step in experience” for the players and is particularly important “because it strengthens the players’ belief in what we’re doing,” explained Rangnick. “When the opponent feels our power, you can see that we don’t have to hide from anyone.”
According to Rangnick, he particularly liked how confidently his team played the lead home. “We didn’t blow away any unnecessary grains.” In addition to the general praise, the team boss also singled out Gernot Trauner, Andreas Weimann, Nicolas Seiwald, Christopher Trimmel, Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch and Heinz Lindner.
Great joy about left-back position
The team manager was also very happy about Maximilian Wöber and Marco Friedl, who impressed in the back four – in a position that had obviously caused Rangnick a bit of a headache. “In Wöber and Friedl we have two players who can play left-back.” This was “an additional insight that was extremely important,” emphasized the former Manchester United coach. In general, there are “an enormous number of players for different positions and strong competition” in the ÖFB selection.
In view of the intense program of the coming days, the high density and quality of the squad is of particular importance. Finally, until June 13th, they will face the European Championship finalists Denmark twice and once against world champions France, who suffered a 2-1 home defeat against the Danes at the start.
The next game will take place on Monday in the Happel Stadium against Denmark, although there are likely to be some changes in the ÖFB starting line-up. “It’s clear that I can’t chase the same players through these four games, that would border on physical injury. That’s why there will definitely be new players in the team against Denmark,” announced Rangnick.
Philipp Lienhart will not be one of them. The Freiburg professional has had a fever for the past few days and is now plagued by a cough. “At the moment it can be assumed that he will no longer join the team,” said Rangnick. David Alaba, who was rested in Osijek, will start on Monday.
For the duel with Denmark, only around 15,000 cards were sold before the Croatia match – far too few for Rangnick’s taste. “You can be a bit euphoric about the reporting because it’s important that the stadium is full,” Rangnick told the journalists who had traveled with him.
Source: Nachrichten
