Schöttel Sees Austria as Underdog Against Spain, but Believes in an Upset

Unlike in the 0:2 group stage defeat against Argentina, the Austrians can expect a fundamentally different game this time, according to Schöttel. "Wir haben Argentinien gehabt, da haben wir gesehen, was uns fehlt", Schöttel said and added: "Wir wissen, dass wir uns steigern müssen." The Vienna native sees untapped potential in his team: "Die Mannschaft hat jetzt noch nicht die hundertprozentige Leistung abgerufen, die sie kann", he said.

Group Stage a Rollercoaster

That the team is in the round of 16 at all was considered a partial success by Schöttel. "Wir haben gewusst, dass es irgendwo erwartet wird, dass wir ins Sechzehntelfinale kommen", he said. The path there was, however, rocky: After an early 4:0 win over Saudi Arabia came a hard-fought 1:0 against Uruguay. In the 3:3 against Algeria, the Austrians avoided World Cup elimination in literally the final second. "Es sind richtig, richtig, richtige Felsbrocken, die uns da runtergefallen sind", Schöttel described. "Für uns alle war das der Tiefpunkt in unseren Karrieren." He also acknowledged that the late equalizer and that "das letzte Spiel in einigen Phasen nicht gut gelungen" was.

Despite the mixed group stage, the ÖFB sporting director sees starting points against the Spaniards. "Die definieren sich schon sehr über das Spiel mit dem Ball", Schöttel analyzed. Exactly there the ÖFB team could make inroads. "Ich gehe davon aus, dass es nicht unendlich viele geben wird", he said with a view to Spanish possession phases and added that for that one would also need moments in which to keep the ball longer in one's own ranks. "Wenn wir unsere Stärken, die uns die letzten Jahre ausgezeichnet haben, wieder mit einer Klarheit aufs Feld bringen, mit einer Konsequenz, mit einer mannschaftlichen Geschlossenheit, dann bin ich überzeugt, dass wir auch Spanien gefährden können", Schöttel said.

In Schöttel's assessment, the Spaniards are in a different league than Austria. "Wir wissen, dass die richtig gut sind. Die sind auf einem so hohen Level und halten das auch", he said with reference to the 33 consecutive matches in which Spain has not lost in regular time. Added to that is a class of play that not every opponent offers. "Die wissen, dass sie ihre besten Leistungen spätestens mit Beginn der K.-o.-Runde bringen müssen", Schöttel said. The ÖFB team has set itself the same goal.

Spain's Slow Start

Schöttel warned, however, against overrating Spain's World Cup start. The Iberians had opened the tournament with a 0:0 against Cape Verde, which had raised questions. Big teams more often "nicht ganz so großartig ins Turnier starten", Schöttel put it into perspective. The Spaniards would "nicht so entschlossen in Zweikämpfe gehen" as the defending champion, for example. "Es ist ja ein Wahnsinn, was auf denen auch an Druck lastet", Schöttel said with a view to the weight of expectation in the Spanish camp.

Yamal in Focus

Schöttel paid particular attention to the Spanish young star Lamine Yamal. "Er ist einer, den man sich ununterbrochen anschauen möchte, weil er probiert, weil er 1:1-Situationen sucht, weil er so viel Spaß am Spiel hat und es so bereichert", the ÖFB sporting director raved. "Er sticht schon hervor mit seiner ganzen Aura, die er jetzt schon hat", Schöttel said about the 18-year-old from FC Barcelona. Yamal is a three-time Spanish champion and won the European Championship title in 2024. "Nur als Gegner braucht man ihn nicht unbedingt", Schöttel said. Whether he truly has this "große und ewig andauernde Karriere" like Messi and also Cristiano Ronaldo, the young star still has to prove. "Da geht es um die eigene Persönlichkeit, wie er mit dem Ganzen umgeht", Schöttel said.

Schöttel by no means sees the clear favorite role of Spain as a disadvantage. The Austrians no longer have the pressure they had during the group stage, in contrast. The team can play freely and use the role of underdog, Schöttel said in essence. He himself played his last competitive international in 1999 during the 0:9 against Spain in Valencia and knows the difficulty of the task. "Und auch in meiner", he said. "27 Jahre später soll ein Höhepunkt folgen", he formulated the motivation.

Personal Connection

For Schöttel, a win against Spain would be a sensation. "Es wäre eine Riesenüberraschung im Weltfußball, wenn uns das gelingen würde", he said. "Ich glaube, dann fliegen wir, wenn uns das gelänge", he added with a smile. At the same time, he made a case for belief in the team's own chance. "Wir hoffen, dass es am Donnerstag so weit ist", Schöttel said. One must "am obersten Level spielen" and use the scoring chances to put the European champions under pressure.

The Austrian team was meanwhile preparing for the match on the Pacific coast. At the quarters taken up in June, the birthdays of head coach Ralf Rangnick and physiotherapist Martin Hämmerle, who on Monday turned 68 and a milestone birthday respectively, were still celebrated. After the exertions of the group stage, however, the team recently also appeared tense.

With a view to the tournament so far, Schöttel drew a mixed balance. The World Cup has so far been the stage of the very biggest players, who are all delivering, he said, meaning above all Yamal and other stars. Austria has shown in some phases what is possible, but in others also revealed weaknesses. "Die Mannschaft hat jetzt noch nicht die hundertprozentige Leistung abgerufen, die sie kann", Schöttel repeated his assessment.

Outlook for Thursday

For the round of 16, it is now a matter of delivering full potential. "Die wissen, dass sie ihre besten Leistungen spätestens mit Beginn der K.-o.-Runde bringen müssen", Schöttel said with a view to the Spanish professionals. The same goal applies for Austria, he emphasized. Should the ÖFB team actually pull off an upset on Thursday, that would be in Schöttel's words a "Höhepunkt" – not only for the current squad, but also for him personally after his career-ending match against the same opponent.

The level of expectation in the Austrian camp is cautiously optimistic. Progressing would be a "Riesenüberraschung im Weltfußball" for Schöttel. At the same time, he pointed out that upsets are possible in football when the framework conditions are right. "Wir hoffen, dass es am Donnerstag so weit ist", Schöttel said in conclusion with a view to the 21:00 CEST kickoff, broadcast live on ServusTV.