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Austria coach Ralf Rangnick furious over Lionel Messi goal and double standards in defeat to Argentina
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick has expressed his frustration with Lionel Messi's goal during the 2-0 defeat against Argentina, citing alleged double standards in refereeing.
Austria coach Ralf Rangnick was furious at what he called a double standard regarding Lionel Messi's first goal in the 2-0 defeat against Argentina. Messi scored twice in the reigning champions' win in Dallas on Monday, surpassing Miroslav Klose to become the world's highest ever World Cup goalscorer. However, Rangnick complained about an alleged foul in the construction of the opening, after a hard intervention by Alexis Mac Allister on Xaver Schlager. “If someone is 39 years old and can score two goals and five in total at the start of the World Cup, that makes a difference,” Rangnick said of Messi, who also missed a penalty after a VAR review by referee Amin Omar. "We knew it was on another level and Lionel Messi proved that he is one of the best, if not the best. But I think we participated in the second goal, it's our fault. For the first goal, I would have asked the fourth official to do what he did before the penalty, he should have looked and he would have seen what everyone saw, a foul on Schlager. It was annoying. However, I am overall satisfied with my team and I agree with the way they played today. Messi's brace took him to 18 goals, the highest scorer in World Cup history, and Rangnick admitted there was little his team could do to stop the former Barcelona star for the full 90 minutes. "This is Lionel Messi," Rangnick said. "He doesn't need many chances to decide a match." Austria had already secured three points with a 3-1 win against Jordan in their opening match, keeping their dream of reaching the last 16 alive. defeat against Argentina, Rangnick said he was satisfied with many aspects of his team's performance at the Dallas stadium. "During every match in a World Cup there are phases where a team has momentum on their side," he added. "It was in our favor, they missed the penalty and after that we were in the game. "I would have asked my players to be more courageous, to shoot during the second half. We were in control of the ball, most people didn't expect us to be so in control. I think we put in a high-level performance in the second half.
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