Austria manager Ralf Rangnick finds no weaknesses in Lionel Messi's Argentina

ARLINGTON, TX — Austria manager Ralf Rangnick has studied Argentina deeply ahead of the teams’ World Cup Group J matchup in depth, and he has terrible news for his team.

After searching for fragile points in he team that boasts Lionel Messi among other top stars and won the 2022 World Cup, the veteran coach has come up empty.

“Let’s talk about the weaknesses first because there are none, nothing that we were able to observe,” Rangnick said through a translator at a news conference Sunday, June 21. “And their strengths? They’re outstanding individual players, they can also play with two or three different types of teams.

“They have one of the best players among them. They like to play in position and they do not only play in position because they can also play vertically, they’re very good at long-range shots. We’ve prepared accordingly.”

Of course, the Austria manager still feels his team can spring a surprise, using Rangnick’s trademark style that he perfected during years in the Red Bull system.

“If you look at the algorithm, it probably says we won’t win tomorrow’s match,” the manager noted. “Tomorrow we’ll play against all odds. Against all odds means that we might cause some surprise tomorrow. It might be a draw or even a victory for us.

“Everything is possible because we’re talking about a ball sport, and a team sport. We have our own strategy, our own style, we have grit and courage and can decide the match in our favor. This is what is going to make or break you. I know Argentina plays at a distinguished level. What’s going to be important is what level we’re going to play at.”

While saying he didn’t find a weakness in the Argentina team, Rangnick did concede that Lionel Messi has had to change his style as he has aged. However, that doesn’t make the star any less likely to do damage to an opponent, as he showed with a hat trick in a 3-0 win over Algeria to open the tournament.

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“Lionel Messi maybe doesn’t put in the same legwork as in the past. He likes to stay on the sides and sometimes likes to stop in front of the goal, offside,” the coach said. “That doesn’t mean they have one man less, but they have one man less that works in counter-pressing. But that makes him so dangerous because he might be free in a position and we need to be prepared for that.

“We shouldn’t have too many transition moments or allow transition moments and allow him to be free to accept the ball.”

On the eve of his 100th cap with Austria, midfielder Marcel Sabitzer said the team is “in it to win it” even with the knowledge they’re facing an “amazing opponent with an amazing player.”

If Austria can limit that amazing player’s strengths, it might be able to pull off the type of upset the coach reminded fans is possible. Otherwise, it might be another day for Argentina to show that even its weak points are strong.