Rangnick on Schlager: "That's how we would have needed him at the World Cup"

Was that the Xaver Schlager of old once more?

If not, it was damn close.

"He was already good against Israel, today he certainly stepped it up a notch. That's how we would have needed him at the World Cup, but that's no use now. There were probably some reasons for it," explains Ralf Rangnick after the victory over Kosovo, in which Schlager was certainly the best man on the pitch.

Rangnick's recent strong words towards Schlager

The ÖFB team coach recently lamented that one or two players were not as fit as hoped during the 2026 World Cup and thus explained the ÖFB team's sometimes below-average performances.

Specifically, he named Schlager, whom he had to substitute at halftime in both the decisive group stage match against Algeria and against Spain due to physical problems.

Captain and Birthday Boy

Against Kosovo, the German coach nevertheless sent the player, who turned 29 on Monday, onto the field as captain for the first time. The Lower Austrian repaid this with a top performance and was able to play the full 90 minutes for the second consecutive time.

"The way he played today, that's the Xaver we need," Rangnick made clear.

"No more limitations"

Schlager himself, who moved to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League in the summer and is an undisputed starter there under Oliver Glasner, made it clear before the match that he is currently in much better form again.

"At the moment, I'm doing very well. The preparation did me a lot of good. I've been able to participate in every training session, and you can tell. My body is now at a point where I can say I have no more limitations," said the player, who had been a long-term absentee in 2024.