Knocked out by Spain in the round of 16, Ralf Rangnick delivered a blunt assessment of La Roja’s performance, even going so far as to already see them as world champions.
Austria were swept aside by Spain (3-0) this Thursday in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. Despite the context of his players’ elimination, head coach Ralf Rangnick was full of praise for his opponents, even suggesting that La Roja could well be the next world champions.
Also read: 2026 World Cup: Ronaldo finally breaks his knockout curse!
“Maybe also against the next world champions”
“We can only acknowledge how difficult it is to play against Spain,” the German coach admitted in his post-match press conference.
He went on, lavishly praising the Spanish display:
“They don’t make any mistakes. Today, they put in a great performance. We didn’t just lose to the European champions, but maybe also to the next world champions.”
🗣️ Rangnick, Austria coach: “Maybe Spain will be the next champion” pic.twitter.com/MiOeWWRqvB
— Mundo Deportivo (@mundodeportivo) July 3, 2026
De la Fuente refuses to get carried away
Asked about these comments, Luis de la Fuente first thanked his Austrian counterpart, before immediately dialing down the growing excitement:
“Austria is a team that plays with heart, but I don’t agree. I think we still have to keep improving. We must and we can do much better. This team is very ambitious. They always want more, and we want to keep improving every single day.”
Piala Dunia 2026
Piala Dunia FIFA 2026 akan menjadi edisi paling revolusioner dalam sejarah sepak bola dunia. Turnamen ini untuk pertama kalinya akan diselenggarakan di tiga negara sekaligus, yaitu Amerika Serikat, Kanada, dan Meksiko. Selain itu, jumlah peserta juga meningkat dari 32 menjadi 48 tim, membuka peluang lebih besar bagi negara-negara dari berbagai konfederasi untuk tampil di panggung global. Format baru ini akan menghadirkan lebih banyak pertandingan, atmosfer kompetisi yang lebih luas, serta jangkauan penonton yang semakin besar di seluruh dunia.
Dengan skala yang jauh lebih besar, FIFA menargetkan turnamen ini sebagai ajang yang tidak hanya kompetitif tetapi juga spektakuler dari sisi teknologi dan pengalaman penonton. Stadion-stadion modern di berbagai kota tuan rumah telah dipersiapkan untuk menghadirkan pertandingan berkelas dunia, didukung oleh inovasi seperti peningkatan sistem VAR dan pengalaman digital bagi fans. diprediksi akan menjadi tonggak baru dalam evolusi sepak bola internasional, memperkuat popularitas olahraga ini sekaligus menciptakan momen-momen bersejarah yang akan dikenang dalam waktu lama.
