 Six years after the scandal, he was enjoying a bright season with his club and the German Football Association had eased their restrictions concerning players involved in the scandal (see "Klaus Fischer") in the meantime, Rüssmann was re-called by Helmut Schön to debut for the West Germans in a friendly win against Yugoslavia in April 1977.Steady performances lead to more call-ups and regular caps resulted in Rüssmann earning a spot in the 1978 FIFA World Cup squad of West Germany.He came to action in all six matches, but after their (early) elimination he did feature just one more time for his nation in the rest of his career.