ÖFB after World Cup elimination: Schöttel opens up to a generational change and outlines the calendar towards Euro 2028

In terms of play, the assessment outlined by the official highlights the difficulties encountered by the team in managing key absences. In particular, the severe muscle injury suffered by Christoph Baumgartner, RB Leipzig midfielder, was described by Schöttel as "lo shock più grande" before the start of the World Cup. "È il giocatore chiave per noi nelle dinamiche offensive", the sporting director stressed, recalling how the injury that occurred to the player right on the eve of the tournament forced the staff to modify their usual patterns.

The Baumgartner blow

Schöttel then retraced the defeat that sealed Austria's exit from the tournament. "Abbiamo affrontato due di queste squadre e abbiamo perso", the official said, referring to the national teams that, in his view, offered the best football in the competition. The match against Spain, lost 0:3, was the concluding episode of a journey still significant for the national team, at its second consecutive World Cup in its recent history.

The sporting director then indicated the opponents that, in his judgment, set the standard of the tournament: "La Spagna è presumibilmente una delle tre migliori squadre della competizione – insieme a Francia e Argentina", Schöttel said, recalling that "queste sono finora le squadre che hanno performato meglio". The reference served to frame the level the Austrian national team must aim for in the next cycle.

The main knot the federation is called upon to untie concerns the future of captain David Alaba. After the elimination, the player left open the possibility of continuing or not his career with the national team. Schöttel addressed the issue with caution, stressing the importance of keeping the senior players still in good physical condition to ensure the transition. "È necessario, credo, che i nostri migliori giocatori, ancora in buona forma fisica, continuino a giocare per guidare anche i più giovani", the official observed, acknowledging the value of the veterans' experience in the growth process of the new generations.

The future of Alaba and the senior players

The generational change itself is at the center of the plan illustrated by Schöttel. "Penso che ora sia il momento di integrare giocatori più giovani, che erano già molto vicini alla convocazione, che erano a disposizione e che sarebbero quasi partiti con noi", the sporting director stated, confirming the federation's desire to broaden the base of callable players. The reference is to those footballers who, during the preparation for the World Cup, had remained on the margins of the squad but had worked closely with the group.

The federation, Schöttel added, will now have to manage a delicate transition phase, in which experienced players and new prospects coexist. The official however claimed credit for the work done in recent years, stressing how the national team has acquired a certain degree of stability. "Negli ultimi anni siamo riusciti a dare un certo livello di stabilità", the former international said, meaning that the results achieved – including the recent participations in the final phases – represent a foundation on which to build the future.

Towards the September Nations League

On the technical issue, Schöttel acknowledged that the national team will have to face a period of settling. Baumgartner, in fact, will probably not be available even by the end of September, complicating the coach's plans for the upcoming matches. "Non ho in realtà segnali che [il recupero possa avvenire in tempi brevi]", the sporting director admitted, suggesting that the midfielder will also be absent in the first post-World Cup outings. "Che sia caduto così poco prima del torneo e non abbia potuto giocare, ci ha costretto a eseguire procedure diverse da quelle a cui eravamo abituati", Schöttel added, referring to the technical repercussions of his absence.

The injury emergency was not limited to Baumgartner. Schöttel recalled how several other players arrived at the World Cup coming off recent injuries, which affected the overall condition of the squad. "Abbiamo avuto alcuni temi aperti per tutta la durata del torneo", the official observed, alluding to the logistical and medical difficulties that accompanied the Austrian campaign. The need to manage these situations took energy away from the technical and tactical preparation.

In terms of future goals, Schöttel set a clear target: the next European Championship final phase. Austria, the sporting director explained, considers participation in a continental tournament as a standard to be maintained, especially in view of the expanded 24-team format. "In particolare nelle fasi finali europee con 24 partecipanti, non essere presenti dovrebbe essere l'eccezione", Schöttel stressed, indicating the minimum performance threshold expected by the federation movement.

The Euro 2028 goal

The calendar of the upcoming challenges is already defined. The national team will return to the pitch in the group stage of the Nations League: in September the team will host Israel in Linz, then will be away, and the group stage will conclude with a home match on the 14th of the month. The next final phase of a major tournament is scheduled for 2028 in Great Britain and Ireland, where the next European Championship will be played: a target the federation already considers within its sports planning.

In the meantime, coach Ralf Rangnick will have the task of reshaping the team's squad by progressively integrating the young players already scouted during the World Cup preparation. The stated goal is to maintain the national team's competitiveness in high-level matches, continuing the work started in recent years. The transition, Schöttel made clear, will be gradual but inevitable: the renewal of the squad is considered a necessary step to ensure the continuity of the technical project.

The path towards Euro 2028 therefore represents the time window within which the federation intends to complete the generational transition, while maintaining the results achieved in the recent past. For Schöttel and the technical staff, the autumn Nations League will be the first testing ground to test the tactical solutions in Baumgartner's absence and to evaluate the integration of the younger players, in a calendar that will lead the national team to face opponents of caliber.

The Austrian federation, the sporting director concluded, will have to face the upcoming challenges with the awareness that the growth obtained in the recent cycles is not a finishing point but a starting base. The cycle that is opening will be decisive to understand whether the national team will be able to confirm itself at the levels reached and reach the final phase of Euro 2028, an objective the federation no longer considers an ambitious target but a due presence.

On the technical choices front, the federation will also have to manage the file relating to the experienced players still active, including Marko Arnautovic, whose role in the new phase will be subject to evaluation by the staff. Schöttel did not want to anticipate decisions, limiting himself to confirming the intention to proceed with a progressive and non-traumatic renewal, in which the senior players will continue to play a role of reference for the youngest.

Finally, the sporting director hoped that the changeover process will take place in a serene atmosphere, far from the pressures that accompanied the World Cup. "Il mese è stato segnato da molte emozioni", he reiterated, suggesting that the next phase will have to be characterized by greater calm and by a more rational management of the technical resources available to the national team.