Beijing time (CEST) on June 28, the third round of the FIFA World Cup group stage, Algeria 3-3 Austria. After the match, Austria's head coach Ralf Rangnick attended a press conference.

The following is an excerpt from the press conference.

This match will certainly require a lot of time to analyze, but first, I'd like to know: how are you feeling right now? What exactly did you experience in those final moments?

Rangnick: Honestly, I still can't believe what happened in those 90 or 120 seconds. I think if someone had told you at the 93rd minute that such a turn of events would happen next, everyone would think they were crazy. I've been a coach for 40 years, but I genuinely cannot remember any match—not a single one—that had such dramatic developments and unexpected turns as today.

We could even go back to before the match began. I think if someone had told everyone before kickoff that it would end in a 3-3 draw, we'd probably be talking about the betting companies again (laughs). I'm sure if anyone actually bet on a 3-3 scoreline today, they've made a lot of money now. Most people probably thought before the match it would be a 0-0 draw or at most 1-1. But it ended up 3-3, which is absolutely extraordinary. So right now, my feeling is a mix of emotions: disbelief, relief, joy...

Our dressing room is now in complete euphoria. As I said before, if Hitchcock had written a thriller drama with a football theme—though he had nothing to do with football—everyone would probably think he'd lost his mind.

First, congratulations on leading your team through. Let me pose a hypothetical: if the final score had been 2-3 and Austria had been eliminated as a result, would you have faced criticism from outside, or would you have blamed yourself for thinking the team wasn't proactive enough from the 70th minute onward? And secondly, what's your take on that final goal?

Rangnick: Of course, if the result had been like that, we would certainly have faced all sorts of criticism, much of it justified. Some criticism might not make sense, but that no longer matters. In the end, what matters is the result. Everyone knows that today was a genuine final. Like our previous match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, except today's ending was even more dramatic. I believe no one could have imagined that the last 15 minutes would unfold like this.

Everyone probably thought at that point that if either team could score again, it would be us scoring a third; or we'd score third first, and then they'd equalize to make it 3-3. But things ended up happening in exactly the opposite way. I can only say again—the attack that led to our third goal, if that were at a training ground, even without defending players, if you had everyone practice it 100,000 times, you probably still wouldn't score a goal like that. But today, it actually happened. It once again proves that this team has very strong mental will and very strong team cohesion. So right now, we're just happy, very happy. Starting tomorrow, we'll prepare for the next final—against Spain.

My question is still about Algeria's final attack. They kept trying to score in those last moments of extra time. What's your assessment of that?

Rangnick: I don't know if things are really the way everyone says they are. At least, I don't think so. Nothing could convince me that with the match having gone the way it did since the 75th minute, at the 93rd minute, their entire team suddenly thought at the same moment: "Okay, we still want to score again now." I don't believe that. If there was such a thought, I think perhaps only one or two Algerian players had that idea, not the entire team. And that's actually completely understandable.

Why? Because after such a thrilling, dramatic, and constantly changing match... honestly, it's not impossible this match could have even ended 6-6. If you consider all the good chances both sides had afterward, it's entirely possible. But at that moment, I really couldn't imagine that most players on the Algerian team would prefer to play Spain rather than Switzerland. I don't believe that. As for our side, the situation was always clear.

For us, there were only two outcomes—we go through or we're eliminated. And now, our opponent is confirmed to be Spain. We're really looking forward to this match.

Algeria has many very talented individual players, and their technique is excellent. The way they played today was completely in line with our expectations before the match. They were constantly creating threats in dangerous areas through many technical combinations. Today, our defense against this was not good enough. We allowed them too much time on the ball in the half-spaces. We need to do better in this regard in the next match. Of course, the match conditions weren't easy for us today. Especially the weather. I think we may have underestimated this somewhat. It was very humid and very wet. That's why we made three substitutions in the first half. We needed to ensure that our players on the pitch had more energy.

Therefore, by around the 60th minute, we'd already made four substitutions. At that point, Algeria hadn't even made a single substitution. So, to be honest, I'm not at all concerned that the next match will be held in Los Angeles. Because the climate conditions there will be very different from today. Algeria will play Switzerland next. I'm sure that will also be a very special and interesting match for their head coach, facing a team he once managed.

I'm sure you're aware that today's result led to Iran's elimination. After their final match, the Iranian national team posted a photo in their dressing room with the caption: "Points can be earned in many ways, but respect cannot." Many interpreted this as a message to you and the Algerian team before this match, since a draw would have been enough for both teams to advance together. After that crazy match just now, what's your take on this?

Rangnick: Yes, of course. I mean, if you look at other matches in this format, similar situations have happened. But with a 3-3 scoreline today, I believe no one will think this was some kind of "arranged draw" between the two sides to help each other. Especially after the dramatic turn in those final 90 seconds, it's even more impossible. Of course, it's very unfortunate for Iran, especially since they actually scored in the end, but it was disallowed. If they had ended up advancing, I think they would have deserved it too.

But that's the format of the competition. You can think this format is good, or you can think it's not good, but that's the reality. And for us, we're first and foremost very happy, because Austria has finally reached the FIFA World Cup knockout stage again after 44 years—imagine, 44 years.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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