Ralf Rangnick delighted by ‘incredible’ feat for Austria at Euro 2024

BERLIN – Austria coach Ralf Rangnick said it was “incredible” for his team to snatch top spot in their Euro 2024 group ahead of France and the Netherlands on June 25.

The Austrians edged out a dramatic closing Group D encounter 3-2 against the Dutch, who had to settle for going through in third place, while second-placed France were held to a 1-1 draw by already-eliminated Poland.

Rangnick’s men jumped up from third before kick-off to first and will next face either Turkey, the Czech Republic or Georgia in the last 16 in Leipzig on July 2.

“We started in the tournament with a 1-0 loss with an own goal against France. And if you knew the pressure we had against Poland (3-1 win) when we knew we had to win to have a realistic chance to qualify, then to finish top of the group is incredible,” the coach said.

“If you had bet on us to win here and France not to win, you’d be a very rich man or woman. But that’s the great thing about football and we were rewarded for a great and energetic performance from my lads.”

Austria sped into a shock lead at the Olympiastadion when Donyell Malen turned the ball into his own net six minutes into the contest, but Cody Gakpo equalised for the Dutch soon after the break.

Romano Schmid put the Austrians ahead again just before the hour in a see-saw second half, with Memphis Depay levelling in the 75th minute.

Marcel Sabitzer then struck 10 minutes from time to seal victory for a delighted Rangnick, a former RB Leipzig coach who is now looking forward to return to the city, regardless of whom his team face.

Two of Austria’s squad – Nicolas Seiwald and Christoph Baumgartner – play for Leipzig, while key midfielders Sabitzer and Konrad Laimer count the Bundesliga side among their former teams.

Rangnick, who enjoyed two stints at the club, said playing in Leipzig next week would give his team an advantage and saw many other positives as well.

“Apart from the three points we got and the ‘home’ game in Leipzig, the depth of our squad is better than we thought because the lads who played today did so well,” he added.

Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman, meanwhile, hammered his team for their performance.

The Dutch beat Poland in their opening fixture before a goal-less draw against France, but underwhelmed against Rangnick’s well-drilled outfit.

“The France match went reasonably well, we played rather well (but) today the performance was appalling. People played poorly in certain aspects... we have to track our opponents and that’s not what happened,” he said.

Koeman specifically said that his team made a catalogue of errors, adding: “I can list quite a few (mistakes). We started very badly in many aspects. We did not defend well. There were many openings for the opponent.

“We were not aggressive. We lost the ball as well, particularly at the start. We were really very bad.”
AFP, REUTERS