A good omen?

Austria always wins on Tuesday under Rangnick!

It's better not to mess with Konrad Laimer and Ralf Rangnick on Tuesdays ...(Bild: GEPA)

It may only be a tidbit for statistics lovers and coffee brew readers, but a curious fact has caused amazement since the European Championship victory against the Netherlands: since Ralf Rangnick became Austria's "soccer coach", Team Red-White-Red has won every match played on a Tuesday without exception! And when will Christoph Baumgartner and Co. play their round of 16 clash against the runners-up in Group F? Next Tuesday ...

The opponent won't be known until this evening, when the final whistle has blown for Georgia v Portugal in Gelsenkirchen and the Czech Republic v Turkey in Hamburg, but one thing is already certain: whoever plays Austria will also have to deal with the "Tuesday curse" for opponents of Rangnick's team.

• The red-white-red run of success on Tuesdays began on June 20, 2023 with a home win against Sweden, with Baumgartner scoring both goals to make it 2-0 (81st, 89th) in the European Championship qualifier.

• The "return match" against the "Tre Kronor" team also took place on a Tuesday - on September 12, 2023, there was another victory away from home, this time Michael Gregoritsch (53) and Marko Arnautovic (56, 69) scored the goals for a 3:1 win.

• At the end of the 2023 international year, there was a 2-0 friendly win against Germany on a Tuesday, with Marcel Sabitzer (29) and Baumgartner (73) on target.

• This year, test match victories followed against Turkey (6:1) on Tuesday, March 26, and against Serbia (2:1) on Tuesday, June 4 - with Xaver Schlager (2nd), Gregoritsch (44th, 48th, 59th), Baumgartner (78th), Entrup (90th), Patrick Wimmer (10th) and Baumgartner (13th) scoring for Austria.

Of course, after the 3:2 win against the Netherlands and the round of 16 match next Tuesday, that's it for Tuesday matches for Austria in the current European Football Championship. The quarter-finals will be played on Saturday, July 6, and the semi-finals on Wednesday, July 10. And the final on July 14, a Sunday ...