Rangnick Hails Yamal, Says Austria Must Keep Spain Star Quiet

Spain and Austria face off on Thursday, with the winners advancing to the Round of 16.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Rangnick was full of praise for the 18-year-old, predicting a long and successful career for the Barcelona forward.

"Lamine Yamal is an outstanding footballer. He could play at the highest level for the next 12, 13 or 14 years, perhaps even longer. If he stays fit and continues developing, he will play an incredible number of matches," Rangnick said.

Yamal is gradually returning to full fitness after recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in April. He featured for a combined 141 minutes during the group stage and has already scored once in the tournament.

Despite his admiration for the youngster, Rangnick made it clear that Austria's priority will be to limit Yamal's influence.

"He is the kind of player every football fan wants to watch. But tomorrow our job is to make sure he gets on the ball as little as possible and doesn't have the chance to start his dribbles," he added.

Austria have scored six goals in three group-stage matches—one more than Spain—but Rangnick still considers the Spaniards among the tournament favourites, noting their remarkable unbeaten run of 34 matches since March 2023.

"We all know we have to perform even better tomorrow. That's only natural against a team like Spain. We need to raise our level again," he said.

Austria captain David Alaba also acknowledged Spain's quality but insisted his side would not be intimidated.

"Spain play very attractive football. They have many outstanding players who can make the difference at any moment," the former Real Madrid defender said.

"But we are not afraid. We want to play positive football and we will go into the match aiming to win."

Austria, however, are set to be without one of their defenders because of injury, dealing a blow ahead of the high-stakes knockout encounter.

MMR