The players follow him because his idea is clear. Rangnicks Austria wants to force dangerous moments in phases in which the opponent plays uncleanly. He actually has the right players for it.
Game system and tactics
Austria plays what Rangnick’s idea of modern football is. The first thought after winning the ball is always: forward. Not via five security stations, but via the first free pass into the half-space, to the advancing ten or directly to the striker.
The quickest way to recognize the team is against the ball. The first line doesn’t start wildly, but rather deliberately. One striker represents the central defender, the second defends the back pass path. Behind them, Sabitzer, the replacement for Baumgartner (whoever that is) or Laimer from deep push towards the opposing six. The opponent should play to the outside. That’s where the trap closes.
The qualifying final against Bosnia-Herzegovina also showed the limits of this approach. Austria had a lot of possession of the ball, couldn’t find any gaps for a long time and consequently fell behind. Only the late equalizer by Gregoritsch bought the World Cup ticket.
This game is the warning for the World Cup. Austria needs solutions against deep opponents, and Rangnick has not yet provided them. This is exactly what will be important against Jordan. Against Argentina, however, Rangnick’s plan should fit the dramaturgy better.
The basic order usually remains a 4-2-2-2, which can also develop into a 4-3-3. It’s not the basic order that’s important, it’s the distances. If Laimer and Schlager push in time, pressure arises. If they arrive a second too late, the space opens up behind them – and then Alaba has to defend many meters backwards. More than he can possibly do.
This is how Austria has performed at previous World Cups
If you tell Austria’s World Cup history in pictures, you quickly come across a game that still resonates today: 1954, the “Miracle of Bern” tournament, quarter-finals. Austria was one of the best teams in Europe at the time, reached the semi-finals – and played one of the wildest games in World Cup history in the quarter-finals: 7:5 against Switzerland. Twelve goals in 90 minutes, Austria wins.
There are only black and white pictures of Austria’s greatest World Cup success, that’s how long ago the game was played. Team Austria never got this far again at a World Cup. Sure, in 1978 they eliminated Germany in Córdoba, Argentina, but in the decades that followed there was often a lack of consistency. Qualifications are not achieved regularly. 1998 was the last appearance on the big stage for a long time – after that Austria disappeared from the World Cup context for many years. Until 2026.
