At 9:15 PM CEST on June 28, in the third Group stage match of the FIFA World Cup, Algeria and Austria drew 3-3. After the match, Austria coach Ralf Rangnick attended a press conference.

The second part of the press conference was as follows:

I know this isn't a topic people usually discuss. But did you speak with Petkovic after the match ended? What did you two talk about?

Rangnick: First of all, I congratulated them on their success. Yes, it's a special match because he'll be playing against a team he previously coached. I think he was also looking forward to this match. But I believe everyone on the pitch today, just like us, still can't believe what just happened. I keep thinking of the song lyrics "Pinch me." That's truly how it feels. Even now, when I think back to the 90th minute, I still can't believe it.

You made three substitutions at halftime. In the first half, the team lost possession frequently. It seems the two midfielders you brought on were meant to strengthen midfield control. However, in the second half, the team's defensive shape was very different from your usual setup and became quite passive. What was your tactical intention in the second half?

Rangnick: There were three main reasons. First, to improve the physical robustness of the players on the pitch. Second, to better control possession when we have the ball. Third, to create more scoring opportunities when we have possession. Later, we took the lead. At that point, if the match had ended, Algeria would have been eliminated. But we knew they would immediately respond with full intensity. After that, there were some defensive issues, particularly in one-on-one situations where we didn't perform at our best. For the next match, if we want to advance past Spain, we need to continue improving in these areas.

You just mentioned that our next opponent will be Spain. What's your assessment of this team? What does this match mean for you?

Rangnick: We have nothing to lose in this match. It's another knockout game. We successfully navigated today's match, just like we did against Bosnia and Herzegovina. This match is no different. Now we face Spain. Starting from the flight home tonight, our entire coaching staff will begin preparations for this match by tomorrow morning at the latest. We must perform at our best. We'll only have a chance to compete with Spain if we reach our highest level. We will fight intensely for this opportunity. In knockout matches, anything is possible. This World Cup has proven it. For example, who would have thought Turkey would be eliminated after two matches? That's why we're very pleased. We've advanced from the group that many consider the most difficult. I want to emphasize that I'm not the only one saying this. Before the tournament, statistical websites had this same assessment of our group. Advancing from such a group is no small feat.

You substituted Arnautovic at halftime. How is he doing? How do you assess Kalajdzic's performance?

Rangnick: Arnautovic just told me his heart rate was racing at the 90th minute. (laughs) The reason I substituted him at halftime was that he had scored an important, beautiful goal. He broke through very well. However, on the other hand, we needed better defensive stability when we didn't have the ball. Also, we shouldn't forget he already has a yellow card. So in my view, there were good reasons to substitute him at halftime.

Kalajdzic is another remarkable story. Six months ago, if someone had told you that Kalajdzic would not only be in the squad but would also score the decisive goal today, nobody would have believed it. In reality, he's been training very well in recent weeks. That's why I gave him the chance to play against Jordan. Many people thought it was unbelievable at the time. But this proves one thing again: if you don't give up, if you always set goals for yourself, and if you have sufficient determination, anything is possible.

He always had the desire to get here. We've always stayed in contact. We spoke seriously on the phone roughly every two or three weeks. Yes, I'm very proud of him. But I think even he doesn't fully understand what has just happened.

Arnautovic seemed to be holding his thigh at that moment. Was it an injury?

Rangnick: No. That wasn't why he was substituted. To answer your question directly: he wasn't injured.

Don't you think the entire Algerian team wanted to beat Austria? Were they trying to "settle a score" from 1982?

Rangnick: I maintain my view. I don't think anyone who carefully watched the last 15 minutes of the match would believe that most Algerian players intended to make it 3-2 during those 15 minutes. At least, I didn't see it. And I believe the spectators didn't see it either.

That's why when the goal actually happened, we were very shocked. It became extremely difficult for us to respond. In the end, that 3-3 goal was very important for us. But if you really want to know the answer, I'd suggest asking the Algerian players.

Alaba appeared to be holding his leg at that moment. Was it an injury substitution? My second question is how do you assess Schmid's performance as a midfielder today?

Rangnick: No. He wasn't injured. As everyone knows, in such an intense match, it's natural for muscles to tighten and respond as time goes on. Why should we take that risk? We have many good midfield defenders on our team who regularly do advanced training. So for me, this substitution was a natural decision.

Schmid faced a truly difficult match today. Due to the match situation and flow, we couldn't really implement our familiar high-press system. Every time we tried, our coordination wasn't at the normal level. As a result, the opponents drew us into situations with quick transitions. Later, we managed to take the lead 1-0, which made the match harder for us. I want to emphasize again that we need to improve our collective defensive shape for the next match. There's no doubt about this.

However, given today's match circumstances, I believe a deeper defensive shape would have been fine in a 1-1 or 2-2 result scenario. But even with a low block, we need to play more actively in the future. Even when retreating into a low block, we must put more pressure on the ball carrier to make it difficult for opponents to play easily in such a World Cup match.

AI ဘာသာပြန်ဆိုသည်။

AF ၏ PC ဝဘ်ဆိုက် စတင်ထွက်ရှိပြီ! သင့်ကွန်ပျူတာမှ သတင်းများ၊ မှတ်ချက်များ၊ ပွဲစဉ်အသေးစိတ်နှင့် စာရင်းဇယားများကြည့်ရှုနိုင်သည်။ ဝင်ရောက်ရန်: www.allfootballapp.com