Austria qualified for the next round of the World Cup in spectacular fashion after a draw against Algeria, but the way it happened was hardly expected. In Austrian media, there is much disbelief, but hardly any talk of a luxury salon draw. ‘A trip to hell and back’, described Krone it. There was also mention of the painful elimination of Iran, which was brought about by the Austrian draw, as ‘the biggest nightmare for Iran is Austria. They had to deal with very bad circumstances at this World Cup, with a lot of obstacles. But the late goal of Austria was the real nightmare’. Sasa Kalajdzic was the one who scored that late goal. He appeared in front of the camera of the Austrian broadcasting company ÖRF. ‘You only need one moment, and that moment was there…’, Kalajdzic said still a bit overwhelmed with emotion. Or was he a bit dazed from all the congratulations? ‘I think I received about five hundred taps on my head as a form of congratulations. I should probably go to the hospital and get checked, because I might have a concussion’, the match winner laughed. Another who was also a bit overwhelmed was analyst Andreas Herzog, who is famous in Austria for having the most caps as an international player (103) and who also is a current analyst for Austrian television. He was taken along in the celebrations of the players, but emerged with some damage. ‘I think I need to file some complaints against the players, because there are some damages to my suit’, he said, also in a laughing manner, on television. He then declined to give his opinion about the match itself, but said it was ‘a strange match, because of the constant passing around of the ball’. National coach Ralf Rangnick also expressed his disbelief. ‘I have never experienced something like this. Please don’t ask me how I experienced the last minutes of the match. It could have ended 6-6 as well, that would have been just as logical’. There was some speculation in Austria before the match that both teams would play for a draw. In the end, Austria played for the win, which was also reflected in the way they played. ‘We were not playing for a draw at all. We wanted to win’, said Rangnick. Austria now plays Argentina in the next round of the tournament.
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