Ryan Naderi's impressive start to the Rangers season could put him on the radar of Santi Denia's Czechia squad, with the forward's eligibility making him an intriguing option for the Spanish youth setup.
Naderi was born in Dresden, Germany, he has not yet featured for Germany at any level. However, In March 2026 he was approached by Bulgarian manager Aleksandar Dimitrov to join their squad, but no call up materialised.
Now a third route has become avaliable to the forward.
The Rangers attacker is eligible to represent Czechia through his family, with Naderi previously revealing that his mother is Czech and his grandmother still lives in the country.
That connection was highlighted by Naderi himself after Rangers' 1-0 win over Jablonec earlier this season.
"My mom is from the Czech Republic, and my grandma lives there, so I can speak Czech,” he revealed.
"My Czech is not as good as it used to be, because when I was a student, I used to go there on holidays."
Can the German striker play for Czechia?
That family link is significant under FIFA's eligibility rules, which allow a player to qualify through a parent or grandparent born in the relevant territory, subject to the applicable nationality and genuine-link requirements.
Naderi's situation therefore gives him a potential route to Czechia, ahead of their squad announcement for upcoming fixtures with Croatia, Spain and a double header with England, should he continue his rapid development at Ibrox.
The timing could hardly be better. The 23-year-old has made an encouraging start to the campaign, scoring three goals for Rangers and producing a particularly strong display in the 3-0 Old Firm victory over Celtic, bullying Martin O’Neill’s backline before being replaced by Ben Godfrey after 73 minutes.
His performances are now putting him firmly into the conversation around international football.
Naderi's Ibrox journey
Naderi joined Rangers from Hansa Rostock in January, having previously established himself in the lower leagues of German football. He had scored eight goals and provided five assists in 18 appearances for Hansa during the first half of the 2025/26 campaign.
His development has continued in Glasgow, with his physical attributes, movement and ability to contribute goals making him an increasingly important attacking option.
With three goals already under his belt and an impressive Old Firm performance now added to his growing list of highlights, Naderi's international future is becoming an increasingly interesting subplot to his Rangers career.
And thanks to his Czech family ties, Czechia is an option that could become increasingly difficult for the national team to ignore.
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