Herzog and Janko: Fitness was the Main Problem at the World Cup

The review of the first FIFA World Cup with Austrian participation in 28 years is gaining momentum.

After their exit in the Round of 16 against Spain, it became clear what the ÖFB team is lacking to reach absolute world class. Although advancing against the reigning European champions was considered highly improbable, a certain disillusionment is nevertheless spreading.

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Many players of the ÖFB team had seasons plagued by injuries and irregular playing times. Former record international Andreas Herzog also addresses the resulting problems in his podcast with Marc Janko>>>.

"If you already know beforehand that you have three or four players who can't play 90 minutes at a World Cup, it's limiting for a coach when you have to make substitutions for the second half."

One consequence of this is that the high pressing, for which the national team was long known, could no longer be executed with the same intensity as before.

"How Simple is Football?"

Herzog raves about the class of the Spaniards. Besides the dribbling specialists, spatial organisation is also a great strength of the "Furia Roja"; in comparison, problems are revealed in teams like Austria.

"Then you see our team, or a slightly weaker one, that doesn't master this spatial organisation so well - then you see how difficult football is when the player with the ball has no passing options."

Summarizing the World Cup performance, Herzog says: "At this World Cup, everyone has to be honest, it was okay, but it wasn't good. Losing against an opponent like Spain, that's all okay. But I had hoped that we would challenge them a bit more."

Marc Janko believes: "That we played decently at this World Cup, nobody needs to be ashamed. We have every reason to be happy, but we also know that we could have done better if we had been in better physical condition."