Many of us around the world have multiple nationalities and even citizenships for two
or more countries. This may come about as a result of many different factors
such as being born and raised in two different places or your parents being of a different
nationality than where you were born. These ways and many others lead to some of us having ties
to different places and communities around the world. This applies to football players as well.
Many football players have mixed origins and therefore are eligible to play for different
countries in international football. Some never take the chance and always
just play for a single country but others like the ones on this list have played for
multiple national teams whether at youth or senior level before finally settling
on one. These are 10 players who have ever played for multiple national teams.
Diego Costa
Perhaps the most notable in regards to this topic is the one and only Diego Costa.
Born in Brazil and having played for them in 2 senior international friendlies,
Costa later swiftly made the switch to Spain and represented them for his entire career.
He was able to do this as he had gained citizenship to Spain in 2013 and was therefore
able to represent them. Feeling neglected by then Brazilian coach Luis Felipe Scolari,
Costa took his talents to La Roja, sparking mass outrage in Brazil where this was basically
treason. He has gone on to represent them at the 2014 and 2018 world cup. We can only
imagine how hard and awkward it must be for him whenever he has to go back to Brazil. Yikes!
Declan Rice We're guessing you must be wondering
if we're talking about the same person… Yes we are, that Declan Rice once upon a time played
for the Republic of Ireland and even took part in 3 senior friendlies with them back in 2018.
Rice was born in London but was able to play for Ireland because his grandparents were originally
from there. This caused the Republic of Ireland FA to be all over him, calling
him up to their various youth squads as all his youth level international caps were for Ireland.
This was until 2019 when Rice pledged his allegiance to the England national team
and has been a key player for them ever since. We wonder what must have changed his mind…maybe it
was the multiple world class players England has that makes them automatic world cup contenders or
it was the chance to spend more time with his best mate Mason Mount. You can decide for yourself.
From one England player in the present to one from the past…
Wilfried Zaha The Crystal Palace winger,
despite having been born in Cote D'ivoire to Ivorian parents, chose to represent England
early on as he had grown up there most of his life. He spent his youth level career playing
for England and even made two appearances for the senior side in friendlies back in 2013.
This was until 2016 when Zaha initiated the process that would change his allegiance from
England to his home county of Ivory Coast. England manager Gareth Southgate tried to dissuade Zaha
from doing this but the winger, as he would later say, was tired of being overlooked by England.
He later made his debut for Ivory Coast in 2017 and the rest is history.
Thiago Motta
Brazilian born Thiago Motta represented Brazil at the international level and made his debut at
the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2003 as part of the U-23 team that was invited to play at the tournament.
Motta had dual citizenship to Brazil and Italy as his paternal grandfather was Italian.
FIFA rules state that a player who has played in an international tournament for a certain country
will be tied to that country for good. Motta's appearance at the Gold Cup tournament though was
for an U-23 team and was therefore deemed not to count as a full international level tournament.
Motta went on to not be called up for Brazil for 8 years and as rumors swirled of him wanting to
change his allegiances, he requested the change which was later approved by FIFA.
He was then called up to the Italian team in 2011 and went on to make 30
appearances for the team scoring a solitary goal in the process.
Jack Grealish Grealish has been
in the headlines for many reasons these days as he has been having the summer of
summers, partying everywhere he's been but today, he's here for a different reason.
The £100 million man was born in England but was also eligible to play for Ireland through
his grandparents who had Irish ancestry. He represented the Republic of Ireland at youth
level up until the U21's where he began rejecting call ups from the team. Rumors swirled that he
was thinking of changing his allegiances but he kept getting call ups which he rejected.
In 2015, he confirmed his decision to represent England at the international level
and he went on to help the Three Lions' under-21s win the Toulon tournament in 2016,
but it would be four years until Southgate handed him a call-up,
finally making his full England debut in a Nations League draw with Denmark.
He has since become a favorite among fans and his international career
seems to just be getting started.
To Africa now…
Kalidou Koulibaly
One of Serie A's best center-backs in the last decade and new Chelsea player is up next. Having
been born in France to Senegalese immigrants, Koulibaly came through the Les Bleus' youth
system and was part of their squad for the under-20 World Cup in Colombia back in 2011.
Despite interest from France coach Didier Deschamps to call him up to the senior team,
Koulibaly made the decision to represent Senegal starting in 2015.
He later explained his decision saying:
"I don't have any regrets because I want to write the story of the future of Senegal football
and I hope I'll be able to do that," And do that he has as he has played in
multiple world cups and just recently won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal.
But still…could you imagine Koulibaly in that French defense,
it's enough to give a grown man chills!
From one African to another…
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Born in France to a Gabonese international and a Spanish mother, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had
lots of choices growing up. Just like his lifestyle of flair
and style, his international team life was also full of this in the form of a myriad of choices.
He started off by getting a call up to play for Italy U19's
as he was eligible to play due to the significant time he had lived in Italy
but ended up making his debut for France U21's in 2009 in a friendly. Add this to
his eligibility for Spain as well and the young man had some serious choices to make.
Later in 2009 though he eventually made up his mind as he decided to represent Gabon. You may
be wondering of all his choices why he decided Gabon…Well the reason is actually a heartfelt one
as his father once also captained the Gabon national team and has 29 caps to his name.
He must be proud of his son as he too has gone on to captain
Gabon while also becoming the country's record goal scorer.
Hakim Ziyech Born in the Netherlands
into a Moroccan family, Ziyech was eligible to play for either Netherlands or Morocco
at the international level. He played at all youth levels of the Dutch team up until their U21s.
In 2015 though, Ziyech confirmed his intention to play for Morocco at international level
and made his debut for the team in a defeat to Ivory Coast. He has gone on to be one of the
team's most exciting players over the years but may now end up regretting his decision.
Ziyech fell out with the coach of the team in 2021 as he was accused of feigning an injury to
get out of playing. Ouch! He was then left out of the Africa Cup of Nations squad as well, causing
him to eventually make the decision to retire from international football in 2022 at the age of
28. He may yet come back if the coach leaves but for now it seems that Ziyech may have just been
better off if he kept going with the Dutch squad. Though there he would have had to play second
fiddle at times to the great Arjen Robben so it's still unclear which choice would have been better.
Ivan Rakitic You may not have known this but Rakitic
was actually born in Switzerland to parents from Yugoslavia. For those of us who may not know about
Yugoslavia, it was basically a country in Europe that existed up until its dissolution in 1992
and it consisted of six republics—Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,
Serbia, and Slovenia. Does it make sense now? Good!
Rakitic represented Switzerland at international level from U17s all the way to U21s and looked
poised to continue up until their senior team. This was until he received a call
up from then Croatia coach Slaven Bilic to the senior team which he ended up accepting.
He made his debut for Croatia in 2007 and the rest is history as he has helped guide his nation to
a world cup final and was always a favorite with fans up until his retirement in 2020.
And finally…
Kevin-Prince Boateng Last but not least, we have
the Ghanaian sensation that is Boateng. Born in Berlin to a German mother and Ghanaian father,
Kevin-Prince Boateng rose up in the ranks of the German leagues.
He represented Germany’s youth team in both U19 and U21. His on-pitch performances gained him
the attention of the Ghanaian coaching staff, who made attempts to bring the young midfielder over
to their camp for the 2006 World Cup. Due to FIFA rules at the time, this was not possible.
Boateng would later go on to tell the German FA in 2009 that he had no interest in representing
them anymore and with a rule change from FIFA, he was now able to play for Ghana.
He received a Ghanaian passport and permanently made the switch in 2010,
going on to say he felt more at home playing for Ghana.
He famously played for Ghana in the 2010 world cup in their miraculous run to the quarter final.
It later turned sour and he has not represented Ghana since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Considering the fact that his brother stayed playing for Germany,
there might have been a lot of confusion with their parents as to which country to support.
Do you know any other players who have played for two or more nations?
Tell us down below in the comments and while you're at it, why not also tell
us which countries you'd be eligible to play for if you were a footballer.
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