ÖFB Team with Full Squad Depth in Training Ahead of Spain Match

Birthday Celebration for the Team Boss

On Monday evening, team captain David Alaba presented a cake to head coach Ralf Rangnick on the occasion of his 68th birthday. Vice-captain Marko Arnautovic pulled Rangnick into a warm embrace. ÖFB managing director Bernhard Neuhold and sporting director Peter Schöttel presented the coach with a commemorative picture.

The ÖFB squad moved into its base camp on the California Pacific coast on 4 June. Between the World Cup matches played so far, the team has always returned there. In the Round of 16, Spain now awaits – a team that, according to the ÖFB, plays roughly two hours from Santa Barbara, in a metropolitan area that includes Los Angeles.

Possible Quarter-Final Trip to Dallas

Should Austria get past the match against the winners of the pan-European EURO and thereby book their place in the quarter-finals, the trip to Dallas would already be scheduled for Friday. A potential quarter-final against Portugal or Croatia would take place there on Monday at 21:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time).

In the event of progressing, the bus ride to Los Angeles would simultaneously be the final stay at the current base camp; a return there is not envisaged for this tournament run, according to the ÖFB. The squad has spent several training and recovery sessions there during the group phase.

Contract Perspective Through to EURO 2028

Rangnick had extended his contract shortly before the start of the tournament through to and including the qualification for the 2028 European Championship. The Stuttgart-born coach will therefore lead the ÖFB team beyond the current World Cup and will use the EURO qualification as his sporting benchmark.

The atmosphere on Tuesday appeared relaxed despite the sporting gravity of the upcoming task. The welcome with the typically Austrian song, the joint team photo with the on-site helpers, and the small birthday celebration the evening before underscored the cohesion within the team.

The Round of 16 match against Spain represents, for Austria, the provisional highlight of the World Cup finals in North America following the group-stage matches played so far. Should the team clear that hurdle, it would reach the last eight at a major tournament for the first time in a long while and face a European opponent there.