Comments on the game

Rangnick: “It’s no use, we’ve lost”

Ralf Rangnick was unhappy with his team's performance after the defeat.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Austria's national soccer team suffered a serious setback in their fight to regain promotion to the Nations League's top division. The ÖFB team lost 2:1 (1:1) in Oslo, Norway on Monday and are on just one point after two rounds in Group 3 of League B. 

Ralf Rangnick (ÖFB team manager): "The basic idea is clear. We wanted to start early and attack. But we had problems with the many long balls in the first 20 minutes. Then, after the changeover, we had our best phase. We were on the verge of taking the lead. In the second half, the Norwegians had a bit too much possession for my liking. It was an even game, with many things pointing to a draw."

On Erling Haaland's decisive goal: "You can give offside, but you can also give a goal. The VAR then saw Leo Querfeld's heel further back. It's no use, we've lost. Now we have to make sure we win our next home games, then anything is still possible. As a team, we have to be more aggressive against the ball and more determined with the ball. We have to create more. Without blaming it on that: We are missing some very, very important players. At the EURO, we had the gallantry of the underdogs. Norway have absolute world-class players. We have to play like underdogs in games like this too.

Marcel Sabitzer (left) scored the goal for Austria.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Marcel Sabitzer (ÖFB goalscorer): "If we take the match film, the first 20 minutes were bad, that's when they were dominant. They could play however they wanted. Then we made changes and things got better. We equalized, it was okay until half-time. After that it became too passive, too imprecise, simply not good enough. You have to be honest about that. They were doing well, we probably didn't stress them enough. It wasn't undeserved that they won the game. I can't blame anyone, we fought. We have to correct that and do better at the next training session."

Christoph Baumgartner (ÖFB attacking player): "I think it was a very even game - especially from the 20th minute onwards. We didn't do well in the first 20 minutes, every second ball went to the opponent. It was a very competitive game with few chances. In the end, Erling Haaland made the difference, as he often does. We knew that he wouldn't need many situations. We defended well for long stretches, but we weren't good with the ball. That was the problem, we didn't create enough chances. It was an unfortunate goal to concede, where centimeters make the difference. But then it's also the quality he has."

Nicolas Seiwald (ÖFB midfielder): "We didn't get into the tackles at the beginning, lost first and second balls. We did better afterwards. In the second half we let ourselves be pressed too much and didn't have such good phases of possession. It wasn't planned that way. We wanted to come out of the September course with six points. But we'll have another chance to prove ourselves next month."

Stale Solbakken

(Bild: APA/AFP/Jure Makovec)

Stale Solbakken (Norway team boss): "We started very well. Then we survived until the break. They didn't create any chances, but then they were much more dangerous than in the first 20 minutes. The win was well deserved. We were the better team, controlled the game and they only had one chance in total. We played against a very good team with good structure and intensity. I'm very proud of the boys."