[From the Coaching Zone // World Cup Perspective #6]

Why Pressing Alone Is Not Enough

The next stage in the evolution of Austrian football

“I don’t know what we could have done better.”

That sentence from Ralf Rangnick after Austria’s World Cup exit stayed with me.

Not because I fundamentally question his work. Quite the opposite. Over the past few years, he has given Austrian football a clear identity: intensity, courage and proactive defending. Austria were praised for looking almost like a club side – with clear patterns, high intensity and a shared idea, especially out of possession.

But another statement from the same press conference stayed with me even more.

Rangnick said, in essence, that unless a previously unknown player with Austrian roots suddenly appears somewhere, Austria will probably still be playing with the same strikers in two years’ time. He said he watches the U17s, U19s and U21s very closely, but currently does not see anyone who could step into that role in the short term.

For me, these two statements belong together.

The first describes the tournament that has just passed.

The second looks towards the future.

And that is where, in my view, the real discussion begins.

Not: why did Austria go out?

But:

How must Austrian football evolve in order to compete consistently with the best nations in the world over the next ten or fifteen years?

The World Cup was a mirror

Measured against their own standards, Austria performed below their potential at this World Cup.

The pressing did not have the impact one would expect from a Rangnick team. The counter-pressing also fell short of Austria’s own standards, with Austria ranked only 38th out of 48 World Cup teams in that area, according to Impect. Set pieces, too, produced too little threat overall.

For me, however, those numbers are not the real problem.

They are a symptom.

They show that Austria were unable to bring their game model onto the pitch with their usual level of quality.

The key question, therefore, is not whether this game model is right.

It is why it no longer had the same impact against the best teams at this World Cup as it had in previous years.

Part of the answer certainly lies in execution.

But another part lies in the fact that elite football never stands still.

Successful game models are constantly evolving.

So the question is not whether Austria should abandon their identity.

The question is how this identity must evolve in order to keep competing with the best teams in the world.

Spain showed the next stage of development

For me, the clearest example came in Austria’s game against Spain.

It was not the result that impressed me.

It was the completeness of Spain’s game.

Spain were convincing not only out of possession, in their pressing or in transition.

Above all, they had exceptional quality in possession.

Again and again, Spain managed to create decision-making problems for Austria simply through their positioning.

Every player seemed to know exactly why he was occupying a certain space, why he was offering himself in that exact position and why that particular pass was the best solution.

Every pass carried a message.

It was not just about moving the ball to a teammate.

It moved opponents.

It created advantages.

It opened the next space.

It already prepared the following action.

Often, the decisive pass was not the final one.

It was the pass two or three actions earlier.

That is where modern attacking football begins.

Not with the chance itself.

But with positioning and passes that gradually force the opponent into new decisions.

Fig. 1: Spain’s positioning creates multiple positional advantages long before the goal is scored.

Figure 1: Pedri (20) receives between the first and second lines of Austria's defensive block and is able to turn. Simultaneously, Cucurella (24) and Baena (15) create a 2v1 overload against Posch (5) on the left flank, while Oyarzabal (21) pins centre-back Danso (3). Posch is confronted with a decision-making dilemma: should he hold the defensive line or step out to engage Baena? As he steps forward, he leaves space in behind. Spain immediately exploit the situation. The passing lane to Cucurella opens, whose cross is finished by Oyarzabal to make it 1–0.

The goal is not the result of an individual action. It is the consequence of Spain creating multiple positional advantages and decision-making dilemmas before the final pass is even played.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/8f3c95_1920d3995c854dce8594041c6d88605a/720p/mp4/file.mp4

Video 1: Positioning creates superiority. The goal is the consequence.

Video 1: The sequence illustrates how Spain create multiple positional advantages simultaneously through their positioning. The opening goal is not the result of an individual action but the logical outcome of perfectly coordinated movements, positioning and decision-making.

In many situations, Spain were not simply playing faster.

Spain were thinking faster.

Perhaps that was the biggest takeaway from this World Cup.

The world's best national teams no longer excel in just one phase of the game.

They find solutions in every phase of the game.

They defend together.

They press together.

They transition together.

And they solve the most complex situations in possession.

That, in my opinion, is where the next stage of Austrian football's evolution lies.

Not in abandoning its identity.

But in taking it to the next level.

The past few years have been defined by remarkable progress out of possession.

The coming years should be about making the same progress in possession.

The implication: player development

A game model does not evolve by itself.

It evolves through the players who execute it.

That is why Rangnick's comments about the lack of emerging centre-forwards go far beyond an assessment of the current squad.

They raise an important player development question.

What types of players does Austria need to develop?

More centre-forwards.

More dribblers capable of breaking defensive structures in 1v1 situations.

More midfielders who recognise space early, improve the players around them and consistently make the right decisions under pressure.

Above all, players who can find solutions in every phase of the game.

The world's best national teams are no longer either outstanding collectives or teams built around exceptional individuals.

They are both.

For me, that is the most important lesson from this World Cup.

And it should now become the central focus.

In recent months, Ralf Rangnick has repeatedly called for daily physical education in schools and for a new national stadium.

Both are worthwhile and important discussions.

But after a World Cup, Austrian football should first focus on a different question:

What is the ÖFB's sporting strategy to close the gap to the world's best teams over the next ten to fifteen years?

What lessons should we take from this World Cup?

Which elements of our game model have proven effective?

Where does it need to evolve?

And above all:

What player profiles must we develop to make that evolution possible?

Austria does not need to abandon its identity.

The progress of recent years has been an important step.

The next step is to further develop the game, particularly in possession.

That requires a clear sporting strategy.

A strategy that defines how Austria wants to play in the future—and which player profiles are needed to make that vision a reality.

Only if we draw the right football lessons from this World Cup will this tournament become more than just a snapshot in time.

It can become the starting point for the next stage in the evolution of Austrian football.

The future of Austrian football will not be decided in the next international match.

It is being decided today on the training pitch.

Sources: Impect (2026 FIFA World Cup Counter-Pressing Rankings); Ralf Rangnick post-match press conference following Austria's World Cup elimination.