ÖFB Team ahead of World Cup dress rehearsal against Tunisia: Rangnick expects an insightful test

Austria's potential starting eleven includes A. Schlager, Posch, Lienhart, Alaba, Mwene, Seiwald, X. Schlager, Laimer, Baumgartner, Sabitzer, and Arnautovic. Rangnick announced that this formation would largely correspond to the one that could also play against Jordan. "You can assume that it will largely be the eleven that could also play against Jordan," said the team boss. There will be one or two changes at halftime, with more to follow later in the game.

Minute of Silence for Alexander Manninger

Before kick-off, there will be a minute of silence in the stadium for Alexander Manninger. The former ÖFB national team goalkeeper died in a traffic accident in April at the age of 48.

Tunisia, known as the "Eagles of Carthage," is participating in a World Cup finals for the seventh time and the third consecutive time. They are ranked 44th in the FIFA world rankings, 20 places behind Austria. The market value of the Tunisian squad is around 70 million euros – about 200 million euros less than that of the ÖFB team. Of the 26 players in the squad, only eleven were born in Tunisia.

Tunisia with Bundesliga Personnel and Respect

Tunisia's French team boss Sabri Lamouchi, in office since January, showed respect: "We are playing against a very strong, athletic team with direct play. We have to be ready to run and suffer a lot." At the same time, he praised the Austrians' style: "I like the rhythm and the verticality of the Austrians' game."

Tunisia's potential starting eleven includes Chamakh, Neffati, Arous, Rekik, Abdi, Skhiri, Khedira, Gharbi, Ben Slimane, Saad, and Elloumi. With Ellyes Skhiri from Eintracht Frankfurt and Rani Khedira from Union Berlin, two players familiar from the German Bundesliga are in the squad. Tunisia had qualified for the World Cup convincingly with nine wins and one draw from ten games, but were eliminated in the round of 16 at the recent Africa Cup.

World Cup Base in Santa Barbara – Guatemala Test Canceled

Three days after the test against Tunisia, the ÖFB delegation will travel to the USA and set up their World Cup base in Santa Barbara, California. The friendly match against Guatemala, originally planned for June 11 near Los Angeles, has been canceled. Rangnick rated this as "rather positive" because it eliminates two several-hour bus journeys from Santa Barbara to the greater Los Angeles area. Instead, an internal training match, eleven against eleven, will be held with their own jerseys and, if necessary, their own referee.

For the 37-year-old Marko Arnautovic, the match could be his last international game in the Prater. "But maybe I'll get a farewell match from the ÖFB," said Arnautovic. "I think I would have deserved it." The striker emphasized that he had worked hard in recent months and had repeatedly put in extra training sessions.

The public training session before the game attracted over 1000 fans, mostly children. After a short session and small games, 20 minutes were allocated for autographs. There were "lots of smiling faces," reported Baumgartner. Goalkeeper Florian Wiegele, who is 205 centimeters tall, was particularly in demand, having to bend down repeatedly for selfies.

The referee for the match is Frenchman Jérémie Pignard. Tunisia will play another test match against Belgium on June 6 before facing Sweden, Japan, and the Netherlands in the group stage of the World Cup. For the ÖFB, the match is also economically relevant: from about 15,000 to 20,000 tickets sold, the association generates revenue from an international match in the Prater, depending on ticket prices and variable costs for security personnel.