Austria is group winner because they are an impressive unit

On Tuesday evening, Austria won its last European Championship group match against the Netherlands 3:2. This means that the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) ends the preliminary round in Group D, which is the most difficult according to the FIFA rankings, as leader ahead of France, the Netherlands and Poland.

Is this a surprising snapshot in the first phase of the tournament or an understandable partial success for the Austrians? In recent months, coach Ralf Rangnick and his staff have not only created partial sporting successes with meticulous work, a lot of trust and a bold game idea, but above all an unmistakable team spirit. The ÖFB team became a place of strength for established players such as Konrad Laimer, Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer and a launching pad for the ambitious next generation around Christoph Baumgartner, Alexander Prass and Romano Schmid.

Schmid, who is only 168 centimeters tall, scored Austria’s 2-1 lead with a powerful header – he beat Dutch center-backs Stefan de Vrij and Virgil van Dijk. A key situation in the match: After Cody Gakpo equalized immediately after the restart, the Elftal followed a long period of pressure. The resilient ÖFB team struck back with the first successful offensive combination.

Rangnick surprises the Netherlands with his starting lineup

Schmid, who slipped into the ÖFB squad as a substitute and was surprisingly selected by coach Ralf Rangnick to start on the left wing against the Oranje, scored his first goal as a national player in this important match. The perfect assist came from Florian Grillitsch, who had already been substituted at half-time on Friday against Poland after an unsatisfactory performance.

The coach made it clear to him on Tuesday that he still has his full trust as a stable factor in the build-up. Nobody would have expected Maximilian Wöber to be in the central defense after his own goal and a botched game against France. Supposedly fixed starters such as Kevin Danso, Konrad Laimer and Christoph Baumgartner initially remained on the bench.

When asked about the completely unexpected line-up in the ÖFB team against the Netherlands in several positions, Rangnick said with a tired smile that it was probably the result of a sleepless night. On the one hand, he spared players who had already received yellow cards; on the other, Rangnick conveyed to the whole team that everyone is replaceable, everyone is important, if they have the right mentality and play their part in the coach’s game system. Even teams that are strong in terms of playing, such as the Netherlands, can be surprised, at least for a while, with consistent pressing, quick ball winning and transition play.

As was the case against Poland, the Austrians got off to a lightning start against the Dutch: after six minutes, Donyell Malen’s attempted save ended up in his own goal. The young left-back Alexander Prass forced the opening goal with a sharp cross in his debut in the starting eleven. Rangnick is also promoting him. And after the injury of regular goalkeeper Alexander Schlager a few weeks before the start of the tournament, the ÖFB coaching team was able to quickly build up a convincing new number one in Patrick Penz. The substitute, 20-year-old Leopold Querfeld, expands the options in the ÖFB defense.

Ralf Rangnick’s motto is to promote physically strong, trainable players who, ideally, have completed the Red Bull football school at some point. Rangnick trusts that sooner or later they will repay the trust placed in them with success.

Immediately after his goal to make it 2-1 against Poland, Christoph Baumgartner ran to Rangnick and hugged him so warmly that the ÖFB coach had to temporarily take off his glasses. The goalscorer told the story after the final whistle: Because the game was in danger of turning, the coach took him aside for two minutes during the break and had such a positive and motivating effect on him that he wanted to thank Rangnick after his goal.

Even Arnautovic pushes himself to the limit for the team

Even seemingly hardened veterans like the former enfant terrible Marko Arnautovic push themselves to the limit for the ÖFB team. He keeps the opposing defense busy and selflessly opens up space for his teammates. With an ingenious move, he led two Polish defenders in the wrong direction, which allowed Baumgartner to score.

As the longest-serving player and captain, Marko Arnautovic is always given special assignments. Most recently, he was able to congratulate his friend David Alaba on his birthday with a cake early in the morning. As a supervisor, Alaba plays an important role as a mediator between the players and the staff. As a convalescent player, he could watch the European Championship games at a fancy holiday destination. Instead, he dedicates his holiday time to the team.

Ralf Rangnick’s conscious decision to play for the ÖFB team and against FC Bayern brought the team even closer together; the players wanted to give something back to the coach, it was said again and again recently. The team spirit and the positive group dynamic in the ÖFB team are also visible to outsiders. After the final whistle against the Netherlands in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, all the players and the entire support staff lined up in front of their own fan curve and sang Rainhard Fendrich’s song “We are from Austria” together.