‘A classic team’: Austria boss hails Argentina before key World Cup clash | OneFootball

The start of the 2026 World Cup leaves no room to breathe. After opening with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Jordan, Austria already has its mind set on its next big challenge: Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina. The European side’s coach, Ralf Rangnick, assessed the current state of La Albiceleste after its emphatic thrashing of Algeria and did not hold back in his praise for the reigning world champion.

Rangnick’s analysis: Argentina is much more than Messi

Far from focusing solely on Lionel Messi, the experienced German strategist highlighted the collective play and footballing identity of the South American team.

“We saw the quality Argentina has. They are a classic team that bases its game on possession of the ball”, Rangnick reflected at a press conference, stressing that this is an opponent with a very clear style of play and footballers at the absolute elite level.

Despite the demanding challenge ahead, the coach appeared enthusiastic about what is coming: “We’ve had a good start and now we’ll begin preparing for Argentina. It’s a big step”.

A tough debut for the Europeans

Austria did its homework in Santa Clara, although it was not easy against Jordan. A goal from Romano Schmid, an own goal by Yazan Al-Arab, and the class of veteran Marko Arnautovic gave the Europeans all three points.

“I expected a strong Jordan, but they played even better than we had anticipated… It was extremely hard work”, Rangnick admitted, valuing the win because of the natural tension that comes with a World Cup. For his part, captain David Alaba echoed his coach’s stance: “We wanted to win the first match to get off to a good start, and we did. There are no easy opponents here”.

Everything will be decided in Dallas

With this outlook, the second Group match becomes crucial. Both Argentina and Austria will go into the clash with 3 points in the standings and a real chance to secure their place in the round of 32.

The highly anticipated meeting will take place next June 21 at the imposing AT&T Stadium in Dallas, a clash of styles in which Rangnick’s tactical discipline will try to stop La Scaloneta’s possession-based approach and attacking firepower.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.