Comments on POL - AUT

Rangnick: “We’re delighted with the win!”

Ralf Rangnick (Austria coach)

(Bild: AFP)

Find out what both teams had to say after the European Championship clash between Poland and Austria HERE!

Ralf Rangnick (Austria coach): "We're delighted with the win and, for long stretches, with the performance. We started excellently in the first 20 minutes and were also really good in the last half hour. In between, there was a phase where we gave the game away a bit, Poland came on and we were almost begging for the goal. The second half was better and that's why we deserved to win. Now it's time to regenerate, regenerate, regenerate. We have to make sure we get plenty of sleep, eat well and recharge our batteries so that we can hopefully qualify for the round of 16 against Holland on Tuesday. It's in our hands, that's a good thing."

Marko Arnautovic (Austria goalscorer): "Big relief (in the dressing room). There was a lot of tension before the game. We knew it would be very difficult against Poland. I think we showed from the first minute that we wanted to win. The coach's speech was so clear that we showed who we were in the second half. It was very emotional for me, it was a family occasion. There was an incident with my father, who wasn't feeling so well. But he was in the stadium today - everything was okay again, everything was perfect. Of course you hear from the outside world, 'he's too old, he can't play Ralf Rangnick's game anymore'. I don't think that's the case. I can still do it. I enjoy being in this national team."

Christoph Baumgartner (Austria goalscorer): "There was real pressure on us today, we noticed that. We weren't as energetic from the 20th minute onwards. The pressure slowed us down a bit, but we didn't give up, that's what sets us apart. The whole nation deserves it. We're over the moon that we got the win. When we're at our maximum, it's so difficult against us. Now we have to get ourselves in top physical condition and recover well, then we can annoy and beat the Dutch."
On his run to team boss Rangnick: "He gave me a lot of strength at half-time. He just talked to me for two or three minutes and gave me encouragement. That helped me. What he takes on for us every day is impressive - that's why I want to thank him."

Marcel Sabitzer (Austria midfielder): "I feel great, very happy. It's a good win, an important win, a massive win. It was very intense, so I'm very tired, but very happy. It was closer to our limit. We were very intense with counter-attacks, especially against the ball. When we play close to our ceiling, we're a very good team. If you ask Poland, I don't think they want to play us again. We want to win (our last group game against the Netherlands; note). We will play against a strong opponent, we know that. They like to play out from the back. So we need our strong, high, intense pressing. If we do that and bring that onto the pitch, we'll be very strong and I'm confident that we can do that."

Patrick Pentz (Austria goalkeeper): "Now it's pure relief because we showed mentality and got a very, very important three points. We're fully back in the group, that's what we wanted. We were under a bit of pressure after the defeat and we overcame that, even though we lost the game a bit after the 20th minute. But it shows that we're a top unit."

Michał Probierz (Poland coach): "The first 15 minutes didn't go according to plan. We didn't deal very well with Austria's aggressive play and kept losing the ball. We didn't have enough quality in the end. We all win and lose together. We can perhaps play more aggressively against France and it's an opportunity to grow. Austria played on the counterattack after we got the second goal and that's what happened. We went all-in. We didn't have a defensive midfielder on the pitch, but we had to take the risk."

Przemyslaw Frankowski (Poland midfielder): "We knew how important this game was. We were only interested in winning. Now we are very disappointed. We were well prepared for Austria on paper, but paper and reality are sometimes very different. Of course you can still take something positive from tournaments like this, like experience and so on, because we have a lot of young players. But in terms of today, I don't want to look at positives because we simply lost an important game."

Piotr Zieliński (Poland midfielder): "We were asleep in the first 15 minutes. We walked, we didn't run. We didn't disrupt our opponents. That's why we conceded a goal and that woke us up. We started to take more control - and looked good at the start of the second half, but then everything fell apart. We failed."

Gernot Trauner (Austria goalscorer): "It was a very, very important goal. I'll always remember it. It's very, very special - to be at the EURO at all after such a difficult year and then to play. I was incredibly pleased that I was able to help the team. We played a good second half and deserved to win in the end. We kept the opposition very far away from our goal and that's something we can build on."
On his injury: "I felt the muscle a bit before the game. It was very tight when I took a longer step. I hope it's not too bad. We'll have tests tomorrow and then I hope to be back with the team soon."