However, the team boss warned that performances like those on Tuesday in the 6-1 friendly win in Vienna against Turkey should also be brought to the pitch at the tournament in Germany in two and a half months. “It’s always about what happens in the future,” emphasized the German, who will have to prepare for some difficult squad decisions.
After their biggest win in four and a half years, the ÖFB team will only meet again on May 29th in Windischgarsten. After the recent strong performances, Rangnick is struggling with whether he should take more than the 20 outfield players planned for the European Championship squad into the preparation. “What really scares me a bit is, to be honest, when everyone there is fit and we may have invited 23, then on June 7th I have to say, I don’t have a rose for you. That’s not necessarily subject to entertainment tax.”
“I prefer it this way to not having to think so much.”
After the Corona European Championships in 2021, UEFA reduced the squad size from 26 to 23 men – including goalkeepers. The first course of the year with the international double against Slovakia (2-0) and Turkey would not have made the decisions any easier for him, said Rangnick. “Some players have already drawn a lot of attention to themselves. It won’t be an easy task. But I’d rather it be that way than if we didn’t have to think so much.”
TV analysis with OÖN sports editor Harald Bartl:
Some players like Romano Schmid and Andreas Weimann already justified their substitutions in Slovakia. Schmid also impressed in the starting line-up against the Turks. Rangnick didn’t want to single out any player. “It was a really strong team performance from us, and also an effort of will – especially because there was a quarter of an hour where it wasn’t easy.”
“It was really good in the second half”
The Turks had the game firmly under control before the break and were able to evade the Austrian pressing thanks to their ball security. “We played really well in the second half, especially against the ball,” praised Rangnick. Of the six ÖFB goals, four came from pressing or counter-pressing situations. “It’s no secret that one of our greatest strengths is how the team as a whole acts when the opponent has the ball.”
The Austrians also want to show this at the EURO. “We are satisfied with the current condition of the team, although we were missing not only regular players but also leading players,” said Rangnick, recalling the absences of David Alaba, Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer. “Everyone took responsibility on the pitch, even in phases when things weren’t going well. That was crucial in the end. But it doesn’t really start until June 17th, then it really counts – and on June 21st and June 25th.”
Then the European Championship group games against France, Poland and the Netherlands are on the program in that order. The ÖFB team has now won five games in a row. “We didn’t qualify for the EURO according to the Olympic motto ‘Being there is everything’,” emphasized Rangnick. They want to achieve performances there like in the tests against Germany (2-0) or now Turkey.
“That gives the team a feeling of what they are capable of.”
“We have the goal of being one of the best, or even the best team as a team on the pitch at the EURO,” explained Rangnick. The ÖFB selection should be the team against which it is most difficult to score goals or even just create chances. “It was a good step that we allowed so little against a team as strong as Turkey,” said the team boss. On the other hand, you played a lot yourself. “That gives the team a feeling of what they are capable of.”
The three stars, Alaba, Arnautovic and Sabitzer, who each already have two European Championship tournaments under their belt, were missing. “As long as we play like that against the ball, it’s very difficult against us, even if some key players are missing,” said Rangnick. “But we first have to manage to play at the same level at the EURO.” We’re going into the next few weeks without international matches with a good feeling. “Then we have to see who really manages to be there in Windischgarsten on May 29th.”
Race against time at Alaba
For Alaba, it will be a difficult race against time to win after his cruciate ligament rupture in December. Rangnick assured that he would be in contact with his players. But he doesn’t want to have weekly phone calls with all the EM candidates. “It’s not like the Waldorf school, where we’re constantly doing one school group after another.”
Rangnick wants to watch as many games as possible on site – next week, for example, the cup semi-final between Salzburg and Sturm Graz (April 4th). The German Bundesliga is also on the menu. “So that we can continue to incorporate the impressions we get into the nomination,” explained the 65-year-old. He wants to think carefully about how many players he will take with him to Windischgarsten. “That also depends on what happens in the next few weeks.” Especially in the healthcare sector.
