Football/Coupe du monde-Aucune entente avec l’Algérie, dit le sélectionneur de l’Autriche

Ralf Rangnick, the head coach for Austria, openly mocked suggestions of a pre-arranged outcome following his team’s exhilarating 3-3 draw against Algeria. This spectacular result in their final FIFA World Cup group stage match saw both nations successfully advance to the round of 16.

The German tactician highlighted the two goals scored in quick succession during injury time as clear evidence against any such conspiracy. Algerian captain Riyad Mahrez initially believed he had sealed a 3-2 victory for his squad in the 93rd minute, only for Austrian substitute Sasa Kalajdzic to net an equalizer almost with the very last kick of the game.

“In a match like this, when you have a 3-3 scoreline, nobody can reasonably assume it was an agreement, especially considering what unfolded in the final 90 seconds,” Ralf Rangnick asserted.

He went on to add, “Just three minutes from the end, if anyone had accurately predicted the events that were about to transpire, they would have been dismissed as completely mad.”

“I have been a coach for approximately forty years, and I genuinely cannot recall a single match that featured such a dramatic progression and an utterly unexpected turn of events.”

“Most people were expecting a 0-0 or a 1-1 result, and in the end, it was 3-3. It’s truly incredible. The locker room was absolutely chaotic. If Alfred Hitchcock had conceived such a scenario, I probably would have told him he was entirely insane.”

Ralf Rangnick further pointed out that both teams continued to play aggressively and push for goals even before Riyad Mahrez’s late strike.

“Anyone who watched the match during the final 15 minutes knows full well that there was no indication whatsoever that the players were actively seeking a draw,” he declared. “I believe they were all striving for a win.”

“No one can tell me that in the 93rd minute, someone would suddenly think to themselves, ‘Oh yes, let’s score another goal.’ I suspect that might have been the thought of one or two Algerian players, but I am convinced it wasn’t the case for the rest of the team, and certainly not for me.”