Zenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina – Austria‘s national football team travels to Zenica seeking a crucial victory in World Cup qualification against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Tuesday, despite a narrow 1-0 win over Cyprus on Saturday. Head coach Ralf Rangnick acknowledged the need for improvement, stating, “We can do it better, we also have to do it better.”
Rangnick expressed confidence stemming from strong performances during European Championship qualification, citing a 1-1 draw in Belgium and a 3-1 victory over Sweden. He confirmed the squad is largely fit, with only Stefan Posch unavailable.
ÖFB captain David Alaba echoed the call for improvement, saying, “We have to go a step again there to be accomplished, but we know our strengths.” Philipp Lienhart emphasized the game’s importance, stating, “If we want to go to the World Cup, we will have to win this game.” Michael Gregoritsch added, “We have to be fully there, fully oppose and a tick more energy.”
Goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, who impressed with key saves in the win against Cyprus, asserted the team’s intent: “we want to open our game there, play aggressively and attack…We can go there with conviction and say that we want to win there.”
Schlager also acknowledged the challenge posed by Bosnian players like Edin Dzeko and his Salzburg teammate, kerim Alajbegovic, who recently made his international debut for Bosnia. He described Alajbegovic as “a fantastic player and guy” but added, “on Tuesday it looks different.”
