Austria and Algeria meet in their final Group J match on Saturday. Both teams are on three points, in second and third place in the group. Even a draw would all but ensure both reach the knockouts. Yet both coaches say they will take the field to win.
Before kick-off, the two teams will know the rest of the knockout bracket. Finishing second in Group J means facing the top team in Group H, which could be European champions Spain. Finishing third means facing Group B’s top team, Switzerland, which can be called a comparatively easier opponent. Spain are surely a tougher side than Switzerland, so winning the match could land the team in a harder situation. Many had therefore thought the two teams might deliberately seek a draw.
But Austria coach Ralf Rangnick directly rejected this. “No, not at all. After kick-off we will read the situation, but it will not affect our game. A draw might let us go through, but you cannot take the field to draw,” he said.
Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic spoke in the same vein: “There are no ifs or buts in football. We always have to face the opponent with the same attitude — the will to perform and a fierce desire to win. We will see what happens after the match, but first we must try to win.”
The memory of 1982 keeps coming up over this match. That year, in Gijon, Spain, West Germany and Austria played in such a way that Algeria were eliminated. After the first goal, both teams seemed to give up trying. In history it is known as the “Disgrace of Gijon.” It was after that incident that FIFA introduced the rule of holding a group’s final two matches at the same time.
On that, Rangnick said: “My players have perhaps read about it in the newspapers in recent days. But I do not think it will have any effect on tomorrow’s match.”
Austria midfielder Konrad Laimer said: “We will take the field to win. It does not matter who the opponent is.”
Both teams have lost to Argentina and beaten Jordan, who have already been eliminated.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report