Marko Arnautovic It is something like a current myth of the Austrian team. He is 37 years old and not long ago he threatened to leave the national team, sarcastically declaring that he did not know who could replace him in the task of scoring goals. Qualifying for the World Cup changed his mind. He stayed, agreed to be an occasional substitute, and as soon as he was given the opportunity, he confirmed why he is a prophet in his land.
The technician Ralf Rangnick He included it at half-time beyond the partial 1-0 in favor, after verifying that his team’s attack lacked bite. And although equality would soon come, in the end he was able to demonstrate his success in having the veteran centre-forward. The Serbian Red Star player was an insoluble headache for the Jordanian defense, and especially for goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila. The successes of one and the gross errors of the other largely explain the final 3-1 in favor of a team that, however, did not leave a good feeling in its debut.
A soccer World Cup is, among many other things, a compendium of ways of understanding the abbreviated game in very narrow spaces of time. Thus, just a short time after attending a duel between teams like Argentina and Algeria, which cultivate care of the ball, the short touch and small partnerships – and still with eyes full of Messi -, the early morning allowed us to glimpse a match with diametrically opposite characteristics.
Austria and Jordanthe next rivals of Lionel Scaloni’s team in the group stage, lack shining stars and both lack skilled players who remember the pasture. As a consequence, and although the ball is just as round, the tools they use to take advantage of it are very different. Central Europeans and Asians prioritize effort and physical endurance over a talent that is not abundant, but still They are capable of providing an interesting fight tactically, intense dynamically. and entertaining for the neutral observer.
Out of pure prejudice and greater knowledge of several of their players, one might assume tactical and individual superiority of the Austrians: it would be a mistake. Among those led by Rangnick are David Alabathe veteran defender of Bayern Munich and Real Madrid; the fiery Konrad Laimerwinger-midfielder from Bayern itself or the intelligent Marcel Sabitzerattacking midfielder for Borussia Dortmund. However, their football tends to be flat as a matter of choice.
Rangnick, a fan of relentless pressurelargely disdains pauses and long possessions, prefers direct and non-stop attacks, and in this way dilutes the options of those who know the most, like Sabitzer, and favors the speed of those who run and collide, like Laimer. To make matters worse, in the warm-up of the penultimate friendly before the World Cup, Christoph Baumgartner, one of the few soldiers who provided quality touches and, fundamentally, a lot of scoring ability (13 goals for RB Leipzig this season in the Bundesliga), fell due to a muscle tear.
In the debut, the Danube team presented a 4-1-4-1 that sought to be aggressive through that demanding pressure on the rival’s starting line, especially when it turned to the sides. The argument worked for him for a long time. He cornered his rival until he forced him to sink against his area. So much so that at 20 minutes Romano Schmid had enough space to try the shot from beyond the crescent. He hit a perfect right hand that hit the left post. The action, however, and despite the coach’s precepts, had been the first in which the team linked a series of seven consecutive passes.
The disadvantage did not hurt Jordan. He abandoned the initial care, with that 5-4-1 compressed in his own field that he had been showing until the goal, and began to teach the handful of virtues that led him to the first World Cup in his history. Ali Iyad Olwan entered the scene, a forward who starts from the left, but constantly throws diagonal lines that make him appear in any sector of the attack; the left-footed Al-Taamari, fast and skilled at tackling from the right or the center; and the ubiquitous Odeh Fakhouri to support both as an advanced midfielder.
The crossbar returned a header from Olwan and goalkeeper Alexander Schlager drowned out his scream with a close shot before the break. He would take revenge 4 minutes into the second half, after a run down the left that exposed Austria’s defensive deficiencies when the initial pressure had no effect: no one interrupted his arrival to the vertex of the area and the bowed right hand went against the far post.
The good handling of the ball gave the Jordanians a few more moments of dominance until Arnautovic and Abulaila came into action. At 18, the goalkeeper botched his punch in a closed cross, there were a couple of rebounds and the forward hit the net with a short shot. The VAR discovered a previous handball by Stefan Posch and annulled the goal. Four minutes later, Sabitzer repeated the corner kick, Arnautovic charged, the center back Yazan Al-Arab tried to make him uncomfortable, the ball hit him in the back, Abulaila did not react and it was 2-1.
The second disadvantage disarmed the Jordanians, who had no strength or spirit for a new comeback. The goalkeeper, after another mistake with his feet, was successful in a one-on-one with the unstoppable Arnautovic, but the veteran striker was finally able to shout when in injury time he finished off a penalty by Saleem Obaid and rounded off the final 3-1.
Jordan lost with dignity, although it showed that its level is far from the elite. Austria added three at a time, but their football offer left much to be desired. None of Argentina’s remaining rivals in the group seem to have enough arguments to scare. Scaloni can sleep peacefully, his eyes have permission to continue filling with Messi.
