Rangnick: "Exceed Ourselves!"

The ÖFB team wants to create a big sensation against tournament favorites Spain. This gives Rangnick and Co. hope:

Source text: © LAOLA1

von Harald Prantl

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"A very special game," David Alaba calls it. And one or two superlatives would even be appropriate here.

Austria faces Spain in the round of sixteen of the 2026 World Cup (today, from 9 PM, in the LIVE ticker >>>). "We are meeting the second tournament favorite within four games," Ralf Rangnick emphasizes.

"Haven't lost a game in ages"

To describe the caliber of the Spaniards, the ÖFB team coach only needs a few facts.

"This is one of the strongest playing teams in the world right now. They haven't lost a game in ages and haven't conceded a goal in this tournament yet. That says it all," says the German.

Captain David Alaba speaks of a team "with enormous quality." "They play technically adept football and have individual players in their ranks who can decide games," the Viennese continues.

Previous knockout games offer hope

But of course, the ÖFB team doesn't just want to be statistics in this game. "The playoffs – with the exception of the France game – have shown that they are extremely tight and exciting until the end. We want to make sure that this will be one of the very close games," says Rangnick.

test — David Alaba und Co. wollen die Sensation
Foto: ©IMAGO / Icon Sportswire

Alaba adds: "We have analyzed the opponent in recent days; we want to bring our solutions onto the pitch."

"...then we can cause them trouble"

"We want to counter, show our true character, bring our strengths onto the pitch. Then we can also cause trouble for such opponents," says the Austrian defensive boss.

The motto that applied against Argentina applies to some extent against Spain as well. It essentially requires a perfect game to defeat an opponent of this magnitude.