Sasa Kalajdzic Leads Austria Into First World Cup Match Since 1998
sasa kalajdzic is part of an Austria squad heading into its first World Cup match since 1998, with Jordanien waiting on Wednesday morning at 6.00 a.m. The return ends a 28-year absence and gives Ralf Rangnick a team that has never played a World Cup game together before.
The coach said the opener begins with a simple target: get out of the group. Rangnick also said Austria’s ceiling should not be lowered by the stage, adding that it is not impossible for the team to become world champions.
Rangnick's First World Cup Group
Rangnick has led Austria since May 2022, and every player in his squad is taking part in a World Cup for the first time. That makes the opener against Jordanien the first real test of how a group built under one coach since 2022 handles the tournament stage.
His own assessment was blunt. “Die Vorfreude ist riesig,” he said, before adding about Austria’s last World Cup appearance, “Bei der letzten WM-Teilnahme war die Hälfte meines Kaders noch gar nicht auf der Welt.”
Baumgartner Sits Out
Christoph Baumgartner will miss the tournament start because of a muscle injury, a setback for a player expected to have a major role. He has already traveled to the USA and will support the team on site despite not being available on the pitch.
Austria still has central midfield options in Nicolas Seiwald and Xaver Schlager. Rangnick called Schlager “der Mann im Maschinenraum,” and praised Seiwald by saying, “Er hat enorm zugelegt. Das Besondere an ihm ist seine Mentalität. Er will jeden Tag besser werden und hat einen unbändigen Siegeswillen. Ich bin überzeugt, dass seine Entwicklung noch lange nicht am Ende ist.”
Euro 2024 Lessons
The squad arrives off a strong Euro 2024 group stage, where Austria finished first in a group with France, the Netherlands and Poland. That run ended in the round of 16 with a 1:2 defeat to Turkey, and Rangnick used that result to frame the next step.
“Wir hätten deutlich weiterkommen können,” he said. “Das erste Ziel ist es, die Gruppe zu überstehen. Wenn wir das schaffen, dann wollen wir auch versuchen, weiterzukommen als bei der Euro.” Austria’s first World Cup game since 1998 gives that plan an immediate deadline, with the Jordanien match on Wednesday morning at 6.00 a.m. serving as the opening answer.
