Rangnick Insists Austria Won't Play for a Loss to Avoid Spain

Austria's head coach, Ralf Rangnick, has firmly stated that his team's sole objective is to defeat Algeria and advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup, dismissing suggestions that avoiding a win might secure a more favorable path.

The final Group J match, scheduled for tonight, has sparked unusual intrigue. The second-placed team could potentially face European champions Spain in the Round of 16, while the third-placed team would likely encounter a less formidable opponent. However, Rangnick swiftly shut down this discussion on Friday when asked if Austria might prefer to lose on Saturday.

“No, absolutely not, next question. We’ll see tomorrow after the match which team we get, but ultimately, we want to focus on ourselves. We want to win the game. We want to get into the knockout phase, and for that reason, it doesn't really matter to me who we face,” he asserted.

Nevertheless, the upcoming match between these two nations inevitably revived a distant memory from 1982 – Austria's infamous game against West Germany at the Gijón stadium. In that match, the teams allegedly colluded to ensure both advanced at Algeria's expense. Many football journalists and historians dubbed this encounter “The Disgrace of Gijón.”

“When that match was played, none of my team members were born. I myself was a young man, 24 years old. That just shows you how long ago that was, how much time has passed, and how irrelevant it is now. The only thing that matters is to win. And we don't care if we play Spain or another team afterward,” Rangnick emphasized.

Konrad Laimer, who was also present at the press conference and had only heard about this old story, echoed Rangnick's sentiments. “Honestly, I don't care. We go out with the desire to win the match. We want to get through the group stage, and then we don't know if it will be Spain or not,” said the Bayern Munich midfielder.