Rangnick: We need a top performance against Spain; anything can happen in a knockout match

On June 28, in the third round of the FIFA World Cup group stage, Algeria 3-3 Austria. After the match, Austria's head coach Ralf Rangnick attended the press conference.

The second part of the press conference is below.

I know this is usually not a topic for public discussion, but did you and Petkovic have any exchange after the final whistle? What did you talk about?

Rangnick: I first congratulated him and his team on qualifying. Of course, I also congratulated him on the special match he is about to face against a team he coached in the past. I think he is looking forward to that match. However, I believe everyone in the stadium today, including myself and you, felt the same way. Even now, I still can't believe what just happened. I only have one sentence in my mind right now, which is the lyric from that song – "Pinch me." Seriously, that's exactly how it feels. Every time I recall the last 90 seconds, I still find it incredible.

You made three consecutive substitutions at halftime. In the first half, the team often seemed to lose possession easily. You then brought on two midfielders, presumably hoping to strengthen central control. However, the team's defensive approach in the second half was completely different from your usual coaching style, being very passive. So, what exactly was your tactical objective in the second half?

Rangnick: There were three main reasons. First, to increase the physical fitness of the players on the field. Second, to improve our control when in possession. Third, and consequently, to create more attacking opportunities through possession. Later, we took the lead again. At that point, if the game had ended, Algeria would have been eliminated. But we also knew that they would immediately step up and attack with full force.

After that, in some local defensive situations, especially in one-on-one duels, we didn't perform well enough. If we want to have a chance to qualify in the next match against Spain, these aspects must improve.

You just mentioned that the next opponent will be Spain. What do you think of this team? What does this match mean for you?

Rangnick: We actually have nothing to lose in this match. This is another final for us. We successfully navigated through this final today, just like we did against Bosnia and Herzegovina. That match was the same.

And now, we will face Spain. We will probably start preparing for this match on the flight back tonight, or at the latest tomorrow, with the entire coaching staff. We must deliver a top-level performance. Because only by reaching the highest level can we compete with Spain. We will definitely fight for this opportunity. After all, anything is possible in a knockout match. This FIFA World Cup has proven that. Who would have thought, for example, that Turkey would be eliminated after two rounds?

So, first of all, we are very happy. After all, we qualified as runners-up in what is widely considered the most difficult group. And I want to emphasize again, this is not just me saying it. This was the overall assessment of this group by statistics websites before the tournament. Qualifying from such a group is not something to be taken for granted.

Arnautovic was substituted at halftime, how is his condition now? How do you evaluate Kalajdzic?

Rangnick: Arnautovic just told me he felt like he almost had a heart attack in the last 90 seconds (laughs). As for substituting him at halftime – he scored a very important and well-executed goal, especially with that impressive deep run. But on the other hand, we needed to improve our defensive stability in that moment. And let's not forget, he already had a yellow card. Therefore, in my opinion, there were sufficient reasons to substitute him at halftime.

As for Kalajdzic, that's another fairy tale. If someone had told us six months ago that Kalajdzic would not only make it into the national team squad but also score this decisive goal today, no one would have believed it. In fact, his training form has been consistently excellent in recent weeks. That's why I started him against Jordan. Many people found that unbelievable at the time. But this proves one thing again: as long as you persevere, as long as you continuously set goals for yourself, as long as you maintain enough ambition, anything is possible.

He has always been very eager to be here. We have always kept in touch. Almost every two or three weeks, we would have a serious conversation or communicate by phone. Of course, I am particularly happy for him. However, I think he himself may not have fully realized yet what exactly just happened.

Arnautovic was holding his knee at the time, was there a problem there?

Rangnick: No. That was not the reason for his substitution. He is not injured.

Don't you think the entire Algerian team wanted to beat Austria, and were they hoping to "avenge" the events of 1982?

Rangnick: I still stand by my opinion. Anyone who seriously watched the last 15 minutes of the game would, I believe, not see any indication that most Algerian players still desperately wanted to change the score to 3-2. At least, I didn't see it. I believe the spectators in the stands didn't see it either.

Therefore, when that goal actually happened, we were so shocked. And for us, it became extraordinarily difficult to respond after that. Ultimately, that 3-3 goal was of course an extremely important goal for us. However, if you really want to know the answer, I suggest you ask the Algerian players.

Alaba seemed to be holding his thigh at the time, was he substituted due to injury? Second question, how do you evaluate Schmid's performance as an attacking midfielder today?

Rangnick: No. He is not injured. It's just that everyone knows that in such a high-intensity match, as the game progresses, muscles naturally start to tighten. Given this, why should we take risks? We have many excellent center-backs in our squad. They train at a very high level normally. Therefore, for me, this substitution was a logical decision.

Schmid actually had a difficult time today. Due to the match environment and the way the game developed, we never really got into our familiar high-press rhythm. Whenever we tried to do so, the overall coordination wasn't at the usual level. As a result, the opponent constantly dragged us into transition situations. Later, we took a 1-0 lead. This actually made the game even more difficult for us. I still want to emphasize that we must defend better as a team in the next match. There is no doubt about that.

However, given how today's game actually developed, I still believe that adopting a deeper defensive stance was not inherently a problem when the score was 1-1 or 2-2. But even with a low block defense, we must play more actively in the future. Even when defending deep, in a FIFA World Cup match like this, we must put more pressure on the ball carrier instead of letting the opponent play too comfortably.

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