Austria Head Coach Ralf Rangnick: They played better than in the friendly match

Speaking at the press conference held after the match played at Leipzig Stadium, Ralf Rangnick said, "Luck was not on our side; if the match had gone to extra time, we would have had a chance to win.

Because the Turkish National Team was very tired towards the end, we had the physical advantage, but as you know, we had played a match against them that we won 6-1, and while we were able to score 6 goals in that match, we could only score 1 goal in this match. We didn't score enough goals and didn't create enough opportunities.

We also couldn't perform well in set-piece play. Three of our players are extremely good in the air, but Merih Demiral still managed to score. It's not easy when you fall behind 2-0. We found the goal, and we had enough time for an equalizer, but of course, it's difficult," he stated. 

"THEY PLAYED BETTER THAN THE FRIENDLY MATCH IN MARCH"

Stating that they started the match well despite conceding a goal in the first minute, Rangnick said, "We conceded a goal in the first minute, but we started the match very strongly; after the first goal, we even had the chance to equalize and even take the lead. We played very well for the first 15 minutes, but then we started to struggle in terms of ball possession.

We switched to a 3-4-3 formation and established our dominance there, but it didn't produce a great result. Some teams cannot adapt to the game again after falling behind. We did.

If we are to criticize ourselves, we can say that we did not make enough use of the opportunities we had. We also couldn't defend well in set plays. We were expecting a 3 or 5-man defensive line; they played better than the friendly match in March. A little bit of luck must also be on your side. If Baumgartner's header had been a goal, we could have won this match," he said. 

"WE THOUGHT WE WOULD PREPARE FOR THE NEXT MATCH"

Stating that all 4 matches they played in the tournament were highly entertaining, the experienced coach said, "Today is included in that. Everything didn't go as we wanted; we could have evaluated a few passes better, but we played 4 enjoyable and high-tempo matches. I've seen matches where I fell asleep; this match was not like that. Therefore, we will look to the period ahead. If we continue to play the football we played in these 4 matches, I think we have a high chance of qualifying for the World Cup," he assessed. 

Stating, "I never thought we would return to our country today; we thought we would continue on our path," the Austrian Head Coach added:

"We thought we would prepare for the next match. Of course, we are disappointed. We must learn from this. At the end of the day, one team continues on its path. For us, the dominant feeling is disappointment, but we haven't been able to reach these levels for many, many years; we want to stay at these levels."