Argentina beat Austria in Dallas
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick praised Lionel Messi’s decisive quality after Argentina defeated his team 2-0 in Dallas on Monday. The result gave Austria its first loss of the group phase, while Lionel Scaloni’s world champions continued their strong start.
Messi, who turns 39 this week, scored both goals for Argentina. His first came in the 38th minute, and his second arrived in stoppage time to seal the victory.
Messi makes history with another double
The two goals moved Messi to 18 career World Cup goals, putting him alone as the tournament’s all-time leading scorer.
Rangnick said Austria knew before the match how dangerous Messi could be, and admitted it was nearly impossible to keep him quiet for 90 minutes.
“If someone is 39 years old and can score two goals and five overall at the beginning of the World Cup, that makes a difference,” Rangnick said.
“We knew he was on a level of his own and Lionel Messi showed he’s one of the best, or even the best.”
Austria questions opening goal
Despite recognizing Messi’s brilliance, Rangnick questioned whether Argentina’s first goal should have been allowed. He argued that officials should have reviewed a possible foul on Xaver Schlager before Messi scored in the 38th minute.
“For the first goal, I would’ve asked the fourth official to do what he did before the penalty kick, he should have looked and he would’ve seen what everyone saw, a foul on (Xaver) Schlager.”
“It was annoying. However, I’m overall satisfied with my team and I agree with how they played today.”
Penalty miss changed early momentum
Messi also missed an early penalty after a VAR review by referee Amin Omar. Rangnick said that moment helped Austria grow into the match and briefly shift momentum in its favour.
“During every match at a World Cup there are phases where one team has the momentum on their side,” he said. “It was in our favour, they missed the penalty kick and after that we were in the game.”
Rangnick admits Messi needs little space
Although Austria competed well for long stretches, Rangnick said Messi’s ability to decide matches from limited opportunities made the difference.
“This is Lionel Messi,” said Rangnick. “He doesn’t need many situations to actually decide a match.”
Second goal blamed on Austrian mistake
Rangnick was more critical of Austria’s role in Argentina’s stoppage-time goal. He said the second goal was avoidable and came from his team’s own error.
“But I think we participated in the second goal, that’s our own fault.”
Austria remains alive in the group
Austria had opened its campaign with a 3-1 win over Jordan, giving the team three points before facing Argentina. Despite Monday’s defeat, Austria remains in contention for a place in the knockout rounds ahead of its final group match against Algeria.
Coach sees positives in second half
Rangnick said he was pleased with much of Austria’s performance at Dallas Stadium, especially the control his players showed after halftime.
“I would’ve asked my players to be braver, to shoot during the second half. We were in control of the ball, most people didn’t expect us to be that much in control.”
“I think in the second half we put in a top performance.”
