World Cup analysis: Why the ÖFB team did not fulfill all hopes

What many did not happen Football fans in Austria had rightly hoped for this first World Cup participation in 28 years: that the team from Ralf Rangnick What is closer to the big nations is that they are world champions Argentina and European champions Spain can demand a little more than what ultimately happened. Why that didn’t happen.

The team couldn’t cope with the fact that Austria’s probably most consistent offensive player in recent years was out so shortly before the tournament. Without the 26-year-old, the pressing didn’t work as usual and the team boss had to move the players from position to position more than he would have liked. In order to challenge the big nations, everyone in Austria has to be fit and in shape. In addition to a fit Baumgartner, there would also be something like that Max Woeber helped.

How long have David Alaba and Marko Arnautovic been trying to go to a World Cup? In the end they still succeeded. However, for the two main protagonists of their generation, the 2026 World Cup ultimately came a few years too late to compete in such a tournament in the prime of their careers. Alaba did everything he could to be able to play at the World Cup, but due to the scars of his career, he no longer has the liveliness that characterized him throughout his career. At 37, Arnautovic was no longer able to play more than half a game at the highest level. And yet he showed his class again in the USA.

The much-quoted one Pressing has honored Austria for years and was the Playmaker of the team. By winning the ball as close as possible to the opponent’s goal and being efficient in transition, you were often able to win games to your own side. The reason why this was no longer possible at this World Cup is a consequence of the personnel situation.

However, this became apparent after EURO 2024, because apart from the 5-1 win against Norway in Linz, there was hardly a game in which Austria actually consistently implemented the style that Rangnick had set for years.

The fact that the Austrians have difficulty outplaying opponents who defend deep has become clear again and again in recent years. But at this World Cup you have your say Switching situations with more rooms Deficits revealed when playing with the ball. Time and again, promising actions to create scoring chances were destroyed. Didn’t finish cleanly, as the players themselves repeatedly emphasized.

Xavier Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald are the running and fighting examples who, after winning the ball, gave the game equipment back to the opponent far too quickly. And potential team players with exceptional technique are not yet in sight at the ÖFB. Until the Youth reform takes effect, which was implemented by the ÖFB in 2022 and is intended to bring out more dribblers and goal scorers in the future, it will take several more years.

After the elimination, some national team players admitted that New territorywhich they entered with the World Cup, took some getting used to. On the one hand, you wanted to soak it all up, enjoy the gigantic stadiums, the atmosphere, even the opponents who weren’t from Europe in the group phase. On the other hand, despite all the routine, you had to process all these impressions and channel them correctly. And that was only partially successful.

Team boss Rangnick confirmed this even after the fourth World Cup game when he said about the stadium in Los Angeles: “I was already amazed in Dallas, but this is a different story,” said the German.