Austria coach Ralf Rangnick has ruled out his team playing for a draw in their World Cup group stage finale with Algeria on Saturday, even though a point would be enough for both sides to advance.
"That will have no influence on the game," Rangnick told a news conference on Friday.
"You can't go into a match and say you are playing for a draw. What it will be like in the last five minutes, we will see. But we will certainly not send the team out to play for a draw," he said.
At the 1982 World Cup in Spain there was the "Disgrace of Gijon," when West Germany and Austria effectively settled on a 1-0 win to the Germans which sent both teams through. The Algerians were the ones who suffered that time.
Rangnick added: "Back then not one player who will be on the pitch now was even born. Our players will only have become aware of it recently through the newspapers."
Argentina have already qualified for the knock-out stage from Group J while Jordan have been eliminated.
The eight best third-placed teams also progress at this expanded World Cup with 48 teams, meaning Austria and Algeria can finish on four points and surely both go through. The Austrians would be second in that case and be guaranteed a last-32 berth.
But as group runners-up, Rangnick's men could face Spain, while the third-placed team might end up playing Switzerland and therefore potentially have an easier opponent.
Algeria coach Vladimir Petković views such speculation with caution. "On paper, some teams are stronger. But this World Cup has shown you cannot rely on the better teams beating the weaker ones," he said.
