Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Austria boss Ralf Rangnick said it was “crazy” to suggest any deal had been made to engineer a scripted draw.
He insisted that the unpredictable last 15 minutes of the game in Kansas City clearly showed that neither side was looking to repeat the ‘Disgrace of Gijon’.
“In this match, when you have 3-3, nobody can assume it was a done deal, especially with what we saw in the last 90 seconds,” said Rangnik.
“If, three minutes into the game, someone would have said that would happen, you’d have told them they were crazy.
“I’ve been coaching for almost 40 years and I can’t remember a match that had such a dramatic course and such an unpredictable trajectory.
“Most people expected 0-0 or 1-1, and now it’s 3-3. It’s unbelievable – the dressing room is madness. If Alfred Hitchcock had written a play like that I’d probably say he’s completely mad.”
Algeria manager Vladimir Petkovic also ruled out any arrangements.
“I am very happy that, in the end, football won, won – as the 3-3 score says it all,” he added.
Austria face Spain in the last 32 on Thursday, July 2 (20:00 BST) in Los Angeles, while Algeria face Switzerland in Vancouver on Friday, July 3 (04:00 BST).
