There are 137 players in action at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar who will not represent their country of birth including Raheem Sterling and Eduardo Camavinga.
A dozen players in the France squad are of African origin, there is a German in the Wales squad who is surrounded by English-born players and French-born players are dominating African squads – the World Cup has everything.
Ranked in value by Transfermarkt and sourced by Sportslens, Sterling & Davies top the list of World Cup players who were born in a different country to the nation they’re representing.
- Raheem Sterling, England (Jamaica) £70m
Kingston, Jamaica born Raheem Sterling is already on the board for England in the World Cup, bagging the third goal in Monday’s 6-2 thrashing of Iran to open the Three Lions’ Group B campaign.
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In 80 appearances for England, the 27-year-old has 20 goals and has emerged as one of the most consistent performers under Gareth Southgate, notably scoring three goals in last year’s Euro 2020 competition.
- Alphonso Davies, Canada (Ghana) £70m
Bayern Munich left-back Alphonso Davies, valued at £70m, made his senior debut for Canada in 2017 despite being born in Buduburam, Ghana.
Canada are taking part in their first World Cup in 36 years since 1986 and ended that tournament with three consecutive group stages losses without scoring a goal.
Davies, 22, plays in a more advanced role for Canada on the wing and has scored 12 goals in 34 appearances for the Maple Leafs.
- Achraf Hakimi, Morocco (Spain) £65m
Achraf Hakmi, 24, was born in Madrid, Spain to parents from Morocco and the PSG defender has represented Morocco at various youth levels before making his international debut in 2016 aged 17.
The former Real Madrid and Inter Milan full-back has made 54 appearances for Morocco, scoring eight goals and has participated in the 2018 World Cup and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
- Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Serbia (Spain) £60m
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was born in Catalonia, Spain, where his father Nikola played football professionally at the time and his mother Milana played professional basketball.
The Lazio midfielder, who has been frequently linked with Manchester United in recent years, represented Serbia at under-19, under-20 and under-21 level before making his senior debut in October 2015.
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He played all three group stage matches in the 2018 World Cup but Serbia did not advance to the knockout stage in a group with Costa Rica, Switzerland and Brazil
- Eduardo Camavinga, France (Angola) £50m
Real Madrid and France wonderkid Eduardo Camavinga has represented France since under-21 level in 2019 despite being born in Cabinda, Angola in 2002.
Camavinga was born in a refugee camp to Congolese parents and his family moved to France when he was two, growing up in Fougeres, northwestern France.
In August 2020 after Paul Pogba was sidelined with a positive COVID-19 test, Camavinga became the youngest player to be called up to the French senior team since Rene Gerard in 1932, who was 17 years, nine months and 17 dacalled
- Ansu Fati, Spain (Guinea-Bissau) £50m
Ansu Fati was born in Guinea-Bissau but moved to Herrera, Seville with his family at the age of six when his older brother signed for La Liga side Sevilla.
After making his league debut for Barcelona, the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) showed interest in him and the government planned to offer him Spanish citizenship.
Fati’s Bissau-Guinean citizenship was renounced in September 2019 as he became a Spanish one, later being called up to the Spain under-21 side in October and making his debut against Montenegro.
- Jonathan David, Canada (USA) £45m
Jonathan David, 22, was born in Brooklyn, New York but later moved to Haiti as a baby before emigrating to Ottawa, Canada when he was six and grew up in the Franco-Ontarian community.
The Lille striker has 22 goals in 35 games for Canada and has two hat-tricks for his country already, including one in a 4-0 win over Suriname in a World Cup qualifying match.
David received a call-up to the United States under-20 team by Tab Ramos in 2018 but declined the invitation to focus on his club career and desire to represent the Maple Leafs.
- Matheus Nunes, Portugal (Brazil) £45m
Portugal’s Matheus Nunes was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil until he was 12 years old but opted to play for the Portuguese national team and made his senior international debut in 2021.
The Wolves midfielder received his Portuguese passport in August 2021 and was later called up by Brazil manager Tite for three World Cup qualifiers before refusing the call, as he would’ve had to quarantine on return due to not being fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
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Portugal manager Fernando Santos persuaded the 24-year-old to represent the national team and received his first call-up in September 2021 for World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg.
- Mateo Kovacic, Croatia (Austria) £40m
Mateo Kovacic was born in Linz, Austria to Bosnian Croat parents who had moved from Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of the Yugoslav Wars.
Kovacic appeared for the Croatian national team at different youth levels, debuting in 2008 in an under-14 friendly match against Slovakia and made his senior debut in March 2013 in a midfield pairing with Luka Modric.
This is the 28-year-old’s third World Cup after Brazil in 2014 and Russia in 2018, most notably in the latter as Croatia reached the final before losing 4-2 to France.
- Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegal (France) £40m
Chelsea and Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly was born in France to Senegalese parents and was eligible to represent both nations, initially playing for the France under-20 side.
In 2015 he made his senior debut with Senegal and has taken part in three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, reaching the final in 2019 and beating Egypt in the final to win it in 2021.
The 31-year-old also played in the 2018 World Cup as Senegal were knocked out in the group stages, coming up against Colombia, Japan and Poland in Group H.
