- Austria were knocked out of Euro 2024 after they suffered a 2-1 defeat by Turkey
- Ralf Rangnick appeared to make a thinly-veiled dig at England after their exit
- LISTEN to It’s All Kicking Off! EUROS DAILY: Why do England look ‘miserable’ and like they are split into ‘two factions’?
Ralf Rangnick seemed to take a swipe at England, France and Portugal following Austria’s elimination from Euro 2024.
Austria were knocked out at the last-16 stage after suffering a 2-1 defeat by Turkey, despite being favourites for the clash.
Vincenzo Montella’s side went 2-0 up thanks to a brace from Martin Demiral, before Michael Gregoritsch pulled a goal back for Austria, but they were unable to level.
Despite their exit, Austria contributed to one of the most entertaining games of the tournament so far in a clash that came after several underwhelming last-16 ties.
Switzerland and Germany progressed by virtue of 2-0 victories against Italy and Denmark respectively, while Spain and the Netherlands impressed with big wins over Georgia and Romania.
However, England, France and Portugal scraped by against Slovakia, Belgium and Slovenia respectively in what were three drab encounters.
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And, following Austria’s elimination, former United boss Rangnick appeared to make a thinly-veiled dig at those three teams as he sought to see the positives from his side’s exit.
‘I’ve seen other games when it was difficult to even stay awake,’ he said. ‘And that was not the case in our games.’
Austria had a huge chance to level the tie deep into added time when Christoph Baumgartner headed an effort on goal that looked to be nestling in the corner.
However, out of nowhere, Turkey keeper Mert Gunok leapt at full stretch and improbably tipped the midfielder’s effort past the post as Turkey held on for a famous victory.
And, speaking post-match, Rangnick reflected on that dramatic moment at the end of the tie.
‘We had enough time to draw,’ he said. ‘But it was very difficult because Turkey had Gordon Banks in the goal.’
The reference to former England keeper Banks was in relation to his stunning stop against Brazil at the 1970 World Cup.
This is something that was echoed by Lee Dixon, who was on commentary for ITV for the game, as he labelled it a ‘Gordon Banks-esque’ save, before he added: ‘His distribution has been absolutely first class but that is world class.
‘It is like a Gordon Banks replica. He has been a rock at the back. He made a good save in the first half and he has made a worldie to keep the tie at 2-1 and send them to the quarter-finals.’