The ÖFB Series Continues

Rangnick’s Perfect Balance Left Foda Frustrated

Ralf Rangnick (right) prevailed over Franco Foda.(Bild: GEPA)

With a 3-1 win over Kosovo, Austria remained unbeaten in its 16th consecutive home game. In the Nations League, the results are solid despite some new faces.

“This man has taken us to a whole new level!” When asked about the head coach, fans around Happel Stadium were in agreement—because both those in blue Kosovo jerseys and those in red-white-red have taken a German to their hearts.

The visitors rave about former ÖFB head coach Franco Foda, under whom they’ve developed a whole new sense of confidence since March 2024, climbed from 102nd to 77th in the FIFA World Rankings, and nearly secured a World Cup berth. “It’s special; I almost got lost on my way to the visitors’ locker room,” Foda smiled. “On the drive to the stadium, the atmosphere was great, as always in Vienna—except that this time, it was the many Kosovar fans who were cheering.” Over 15,000 fans created quite a stir in the stands, but not a single boo was heard during the national anthem; instead, there was applause afterward.

“Mission Fresh Blood”
Just as high as Foda’s popularity with the opposition—even if quite a few are still a bit bitter about the World Cup—is that of Ralf Rangnick in Austria. The 68-year-old continues to push forward with “Mission Fresh Blood.” Against Israel, four players in the starting lineup hadn’t started in the last World Cup match against Spain; this time, there were six. Salzburg’s Nikolas Veratschnig (23) and Christian Zawieschitzky (19) made their debuts, goal-scorer David Affengruber (25) made the starting lineup for the first time, and Vasilije Markovic (18) also got some playing time late in the game.

The starting lineup had an average age of just 25.25 years—captain Xaver Schlager, who is celebrating his 29th birthday today, was the oldest. “But there’s no one to single out; no one fell short,” said Austria’s head coach, expressing satisfaction with everyone after the 3-1 victory. “We’ve got incredible momentum right now.”

“Everything is coming together”
That was true for him as well. Despite his ankle injury, he covered as many meters as Foda, who is eight years younger. Time and again, he left his coaching zone to give instructions. For example, after Affengruber’s 1–0 goal, he gushed: “The team chemistry is right; everything is coming together—it was a great team effort.”

So it quickly became clear that the home streak under Rangnick would continue: In all 25 games on red-white-red soil, Austria scored at least one goal. That makes 28 (!) consecutive home games in total—because the streak had begun during the Foda era.

Of course, that didn’t matter to yesterday’s losers. Meanwhile, Seiwald and Co. remained unbeaten in their 16th consecutive home game. Even more important in the medium term: how well Rangnick has so far managed the balancing act between rejuvenation and results!