“I would prefer to finish first, but then we would have to beat the Netherlands and France, not Poland. Both are unlikely to happen,” Rangnick said at a press conference in Berlin. “That's why we'll finish second. I looked at the scenarios if we finished third, but I stopped doing that at a certain point. It was too complicated for me. The main goal is to get to the last 16.”
Rangnick spoke admiringly of the Netherlands' footballing qualities, just like Alexander Bras, who also sees this as an advantage for Austria. “I think a team that likes possession might suit us better, because we can switch quickly when we win the ball,” said the defender, who also attended the press conference.
Cruyff
He said that Johan Cruyff was a hero to Rangnick. “I was hugely impressed by his playing. At my youth club we only had shirt numbers from 1 to 11, and then I asked my coach for number 14. Cruyff, like Franz Beckenbauer, had a huge influence on the development of football as a player and coach.” I feel like the Netherlands have played the same way since Cruyff's time, with a lot of depth in the game, it will be important on Tuesday who wins the second ball.
Austria has never reached the quarter-finals of a European Championship. In 2021, the country fell short in the eighth finals to future champions Italy.
