Respect for the Turks

ÖFB team “won’t be dazzled” by 6:1!

Florian Grillitsch

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Austria's national soccer team is brimming with confidence after winning their group at the European Championship in Germany. Florian Grillitsch also wants to keep calm in the round of 16 against Turkey in Leipzig on Tuesday. The midfielder emphasized that the tournament is not starting anew. "But it's certainly a different situation in the knockout phase. These are all-or-nothing games." And the 6:1 in a test match a few months ago no longer matters anyway ...

It might help that half of the ÖFB starting line-up, especially the attacking side, are already familiar with the situation from Euro 2021, when they narrowly lost to eventual European champions Italy in the round of 16 (1:2 n.V.). Grillitsch was a key player in central midfield back then, but he slipped into the starting eleven at the current tournament primarily due to Xaver Schlager's injury. He regrets his absence. "But I'm happy that I got the chance. I've also earned it to a certain extent," said Grillitsch.

"He's great against the ball and also very good with the ball!"
The Hoffenheim professional was full of praise for Schlager. The Leipzig legionnaire, who is missing from the ÖFB team due to a cruciate ligament rupture suffered at the beginning of May, is a mixture of midfield war machine Nicolas Seiwald and himself, Grillitsch said. "He's the best of both, two players in one. He's top against the ball and also very good with the ball."

(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

In Grillitsch's case, it is above all his calmness on the ball and in pressure situations that gives him a very high standing with the leading players in the ÖFB team. The 28-year-old from Lower Austria has started all three European Championship games so far, but has been substituted each time. Whether he will also be in the starting eleven against the Turks remains to be seen.

"That's certainly not a disadvantage for us!"
Romano Schmid had recently impressed with a strong game and a goal after a Grillitsch cross against the Netherlands (3:2) and is pushing his way into the team. This could see Bayern Munich ball-winner Konrad Laimer move further back into the center of midfield from the right wing. The Turks are missing their star Hakan Calhanoglu due to suspension. "That's the leader, the captain, the pacemaker," Grillitsch said of the 30-year-old from Italian champions Inter Milan. "That's certainly not a disadvantage for us."

Grillitsch also believes the ÖFB squad, who have one more day's rest than Turkey ahead of the round of 16, are physically ready. "You don't need to worry about the energy level, that we won't be back on time." The goal is clear: "We want to perform like we have in recent weeks and progress."

"It will be a completely different game in terms of pressure!" 
The players watched videos of the Turks on Friday morning before training. The 6:1 test match victory in March should no longer play a role in their minds. "We're not thinking about that at all," assured substitute striker Andreas Weimann. "It will be a completely different game in terms of pressure." They are aware that "everything went our way" in the thumping win in Vienna, added Grillitsch. "We won't let that blind us."

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

That certainly won't happen to team boss Ralf Rangnick. His players are full of praise for the 66-year-old German. "The coach is simply a doer," said Grillitsch. "When he sets his mind to something or wants something, he gnaws at it until it's the way he wants it. We as a team are very happy to have him." According to Weimann, Rangnick is now also receiving more and more recognition from the outside. "He deserves it too," said the 32-year-old, who made his European Championship debut with a brief appearance in the final phase against the Netherlands.

"That looks a bit worse for Man United now!"
A rethink has also taken place among the English public, said Weimann, who last played for second division club West Bromwich Albion on the island. Rangnick's time as interim coach in Manchester (2021/22) did not go so well. "But it looks a bit worse for Manchester United now than for the coach. He is now also getting more recognition in England." According to Weimann, the English will be happy to face Austria in the European Championship semi-finals at the earliest.