"Für mich ging es darum, wieder unser eigentliches Gesicht zu zeigen und Energie auf den Platz zu bringen. Beides war der Fall."
Ultimately, there was still a happy ending, as the ÖFB team got a successful start to a truly decisive autumn and, in game one after the 2026 World Cup, brought back one or two virtues that seemed forgotten recently.
"For me, it was about showing our true face again and bringing energy onto the pitch. Both were the case," Rangnick believes.
"If you let them play..."
This was also absolutely necessary against the visitors, who were strong in attack.
"If you let them play, it can become very uncomfortable," knows the national team coach. "That's why our goal was to play with maximum intensity when the opponent has the ball."
Did it really "clash" again?
In the run-up to the game, the German coach demanded that Austria should again play in a "heavy-metal style" and that it had to "really clash" again.
"ORF" presenter Rainer Pariasek wants to know from Rangnick if it really "clashed" again against Israel.
"I think so. Against the ball, we played clearly better than at the World Cup. We weren't at the absolute highest level yet, but you mustn't forget that we only had one and a half days together," said the 68-year-old.
More is still possible with the ball
In terms of play, there was, of course, still room for improvement: "We know that we can find even better solutions when in possession, that we can capitalize even more on winning the ball."
The difficulty of combining towards the opponent's goal was due, not least, to Israel's extremely deep defensive setup after the sending off of their striker Saied Abu Farchi.
"...that's not a given"
"Then they switched to a back five, and then it was, of course, twice as difficult to break through, with so many strong aerial players in the center," says Rangnick.
He was all the more pleased "that the boys kept at it and still pulled off the win. That's not a given."
The victory was also not a given because, in the past, Austria, with a supposedly stronger squad, struggled much more against - on paper - significantly easier opponents.
Many missing key players
"When you consider - and I say this not as an excuse, but as an explanation - who all was missing, it's quite remarkable what the boys achieved. Against Estonia here in Linz, we also only won 2-1 in the very last minute when almost everyone was on board," Rangnick recalls a European Championship qualifier from March 2023.
At that time, Konrad Laimer and Christoph Baumgartner were in the starting eleven; Marcel Sabitzer and David Alaba were at least on the bench. All of them were missing this time, as was ÖFB record player Marko Arnautovic.
From this perspective, "it can certainly be considered remarkable what the boys delivered today," said the not dissatisfied national team coach.
