Last week, Austria warmed up for Tuesday’s European Championship qualifier against Sweden at the Friends Arena by playing a practice match against Moldova. It ended 1-1 and the performance was not great, according to national team captain Ralf Rangnick.
Rangnick tested a number of players who are knocking on the door of the starting eleven in competitive matches – but did not get good answers.
– We have gained clarity about the starting eleven (against Sweden), but in a different way than I imagined. I was hoping that one or the other player would make it more difficult for me (to take the team out), but that will not be the case, says Rangnick according to Kronen Zeitung.
After the match against Moldova, Rangnick has also gone hard on individual players such as defender David Schnegg.
– I was surprised that he (David Schnegg) was out (flat) in the last 20 minutes. He’s 23, 24 years old and really needs to be full of energy at the start of the season. The match wasn’t that intense either.
The goal that Austria conceded against Moldova came about after a serious goalkeeping mistake by Daniel Bachmann in the third minute. The keeper was then mocked by his own supporters, which made star Marko Arnautovic see red.
– I thought it was a shame how the fans in Linz received Bachmann. I can’t be calm about it, says Arnautovic.
The forward also states the following:
– I heard a bit in the first half when the ball was played back to Daniel (Bachmann), that people in the arena were pushing it. I don’t think it’s good, it’s not acceptable.
– You should build up a player after such a mistake. We played at home, it’s our audience and if our audience doesn’t stand behind us, then who will?
Bachmann himself says he takes the painting in his stride.
– Mistakes happen. I’m experienced enough that this shouldn’t rob me of any sleep, says the goalkeeper.
Furthermore, the aforementioned Rangnick was connected with another job, just the day before the important match against Sweden. He is singled out as a candidate to take over as the new national team captain for Germany, who sacked Hansi Flick.
However, the Austrian national team captain is down about it.
– Germany is not a topic for me. I decided 14 months ago to take on the role of national team captain for Austria. I want to qualify for the EC with the team and play a good role there, says Rangnick according to ORF.
Sweden must win against Austria to seriously keep alive the dream of advancing to the EC.
2023-09-11 11:11:00
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