Most valuable Austrian
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This article first appeared on June 2nd at 12:12 p.m. and has been revised with new information.
Bitter news for Austria and Christoph Baumgartner. The 26-year-old offensive player will be missing from the ÖFB team at the upcoming World Cup. On Tuesday, the association confirmed the failure after the professional, who works for RB Leipzig, was injured during the warm-up before the international match against Tunisia (1-0). An MRI scan revealed an injury to the muscles in the right thigh.
Update, June 3, 7:52 p.m.: Baumgartner will probably be absent from RB Leipzig for longer than expected. The Austrian international underwent surgery on Wednesday after suffering a muscle injury in his right thigh. According to RB, the procedure was successful. “Our offensive player will begin rehab promptly and will continue most of it in Leipzig during preparation for the 2026/27 season,” said the Saxons.
Baumgartner was the Austrians’ great hope for the tournament in North America. In the Bundesliga for Leipzig last season, he scored 13 goals and provided nine assists, making him the fifth best scorer in the German top flight. He is also a top performer in the ÖFB team and the star of coach Ralf Rangnick’s team. No Austrian footballer has a higher market value than Baumgartner with 40 million euros.
The ÖFB has not yet provided any information about a subsequent nomination. Candidates to replace Baumgartner would be Nikolaus Wurmbrand (20) from Rapid Vienna or Marco Grüll (27) from Bremen. Gladbach’s Kevin Stöger is also on the list of players who could join the team if called upon. After the bitter loss, Borussia Dortmund’s Carney Chukwuemeka (22) or the former Munich player Paul Wanner (20) from PSV Eindhoven could play a larger role in the existing squad. The quality that Baumgartner showed last season cannot be replaced.
ÖFB coach Rangnick had named a total of 14 professionals from the German Bundesliga to his 26-man squad for the World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Chukwuemeka and BVB colleague Marcel Sabitzer, Xaver Schlager, Nicolas Seiwald (both Leipzig), Marco Friedl, Romano Schmid (both Werder Bremen), Stefan Posch, Phillipp Mwene (both Mainz 05), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Konrad Laimer (FC Bayern), Alexander Prass (TSG Hoffenheim), Patrick Wimmer (VfL Wolfsburg) and Michael Gregoritsch (FC Augsburg) are the ones 13 remained in the squad.