After their biggest win in four and a half years, the ÖFB team will only meet again on May 29th in Windischgarsten. After the recent strong performances, Rangnick is struggling with whether he should take more than the 20 outfield players planned for the European Championship squad into the preparation. “What really scares me a bit is, to be honest, when everyone there is fit and we may have invited 23, then on June 7th I have to say, I don’t have a rose for you. “It’s not necessarily subject to entertainment tax,” said the 65-year-old.
After the pan-European finals in 2021, which was marked by the coronavirus pandemic, the squad size was reduced from 26 to 23 men by the continental association UEFA – including goalkeepers. The first course of the year with the international doubles against Slovakia (2-0) and Turkey did not make the decisions any easier for him, said Rangnick. “Some players have already drawn a lot of attention to themselves. This won’t be an easy task. But I prefer it this way to not having to think so much.”
Selection for the European Championships
On Tuesday, the ÖFB team triumphed against Turkey with a 6-1 win. Team boss Ralf Rangnick now has to start selecting the 20 field players for the European Championship early on.
Schmid a winner in March
Some players like Romano Schmid and Andreas Weimann already justified their substitutions in Slovakia. Schmid, who was also impressive in the starting line-up against the Turks: “Everyone showed that they can keep up at this level. Because in football the devil never sleeps, and then everyone can show that he is there. Of course my goal is to be at the European Championships. If I’m in the mood I’m in at the moment, I think I have a good chance.”
GEPA/Philipp Brem Bremen legionnaire Schmid has recently noticeably moved up in Rangnick’s considerations
Rangnick didn’t dwell on any player, but emphasized the team performance. “We are satisfied with the current condition of the team, although we were missing not only regular players but also leading players,” said Rangnick, recalling the absences of David Alaba, Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer, among others. “Everyone took responsibility on the pitch, even in phases when things weren’t going well. That was crucial in the end. But it doesn’t really start until June 17th (against France), then it really counts – and on June 21st (Poland) and June 25th (Netherlands).”
Being there isn’t everything
Then the European Championship group games against France, Poland and the Netherlands are on the program in that order. The ÖFB team has now won five games in a row. “We didn’t qualify for the European Championships according to the Olympic motto ‘Being there is everything’,” emphasized Rangnick. They want to achieve performances there like in the tests against Germany (2-0) or now Turkey.
debate
Who has what it takes to be an ÖFB leading player?
“We have the goal of being one of the best or even the best team on the pitch at the European Championships,” explained Rangnick. The ÖFB selection should be the team against which it is most difficult to score goals or even just create chances. “It was a good step that we allowed so little against a team as strong as Turkey,” said the team boss. On the other hand, you played a lot yourself. “That gives the team a feeling of what they are capable of.”
The three stars, Alaba, Arnautovic and Sabitzer, who each already have two European Championship tournaments under their belt, were missing. “As long as we play like that against the ball, it’s very difficult against us, even if some top performers are missing,” said Rangnick. “But first we have to manage to play at the same level at the European Championships.” We are going into the next few weeks without international matches with a good feeling. “Then we have to see who really manages to be there in Windischgarsten on May 29th.”
Alaba’s race against time
For Alaba, it will be a difficult race against time to win after his cruciate ligament rupture in December. Rangnick assured that he would be in contact with his players. But he doesn’t want to have weekly phone calls with all the EM candidates. “It’s not the case with us now that it’s like the Waldorf school, where we’re constantly doing one school group after another.”
Rangnick wants to watch as many games as possible in the stadium himself – next week, for example, the cup semi-final between Salzburg and Sturm Graz (April 4th). The German Bundesliga is also on the menu. “So that we can continue to incorporate the impressions we get into the nomination,” explained the 65-year-old. He wants to think carefully about how many players he will take with him to Windischgarsten. “That also depends on what happens in the next few weeks.” Especially in the health sector.
