Rangnick: "...then it's no fun to play against us"

"That's exactly how we envisioned it"

In the match against the team of his predecessor, Franco Foda, he deliberately chose a starting XI of players "who are absolutely match fit and have shown in training that they are in good form. In retrospect, it has been confirmed that we weren't entirely wrong."

To beat a tactically well-prepared opponent like the Kosovans, "it was clear that we had to perform at the highest level in terms of intensity."

Rangnick believes: "That was the case throughout the entire game. That's why we dominated and controlled it. That's exactly how we envisioned it."

Necessary Rotation

A total of six changes – although some of them forced – were made compared to the lineup against Israel in Linz on Thursday.

It was important for Rangnick to start the rotation machine because he had negative experiences in this regard from his first training camp four years ago. At that time, Austria also had to play four games within ten days in the Nations League.

"And in the last game against Denmark (0-2, editor's note), we had no power left, no fuel left in the tank. That's why we wanted to rotate on a larger scale without losing quality – today it was even the opposite, we built on the Israel game again today," said Rangnick.

test — Nicht nur in den Zweikämpfen hat es das ÖFB-Team ordentlich scheppern lassen
Foto: ©IMAGO / Beautiful Sports International

Even though the final result was identical to that three days ago against Israel, the performance this time felt more refreshing and, due to the course of the game, certainly more dominant.

Rangnick repeatedly referred in recent days to his new Austrian favorite word, emphasizing that ÖFB games should finally "buzz" again. In the opinion of the 68-year-old, that was certainly the case on Sunday at the Happel Oval.

"Today it was buzzing for almost 90 minutes. The aim is to continue training and playing at this energy level. Then it's not pleasant to play against us," the German knows, aware of the strengths of his high-pressing football.

Match Plan Fully Executed

"Ich habe schon vor 35, 40 Jahren zu meinen Mannschaften gesagt: 'Wer gut kontert, gewinnt.'"

Ralf Rangnick

Much more important, of course, is what happens with the ball after it's won. On Sunday, there was a lot of good to see.

Rangnick added: "What was much better today than on Thursday were the transitional situations. I already told my teams 35, 40 years ago: 'Whoever counters well, wins.' Today we were really dangerous on the counter again."

So the match plan was fully executed, his team implemented exactly "what we wanted: a really aggressive game against the ball and the corresponding transitional moments that led to clear scoring chances."

Minor Personnel Question Marks Ahead of Dublin Away Game

Austria now heads into the away double-header in Ireland and Kosovo as group leaders of League B, Group 3 of the Nations League. The difficult task in Dublin awaits already next Thursday (8:45 PM in the LIVE ticker>>>).

"There will certainly be a heated atmosphere there. They will have a different approach than the first two opponents," Rangnick predicts.

Minor question marks for this game still exist for Michael Gregoritsch, who was not yet fit enough for a squad nomination this time, for Phillipp Mwene, who had a muscle tighten up in training, and for Paul Wanner, who felt a twinge in his foot arch against Kosovo.

Philipp Lienhart was rested and therefore not in the squad. He is a hot tip for the starting XI on Thursday. Sasa Kalajdzic could also start in Dublin, after he voluntarily opted out of a starting XI appearance on Sunday due to his injury history.