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Nothing is more prestigious than playing for your country. Irrespective of the sport, competition or context, it is a proud moment for anyone to have the chance to represent their nation.
Many footballers have been blessed with this opportunity time and again. In fact, most of them thrive very hard at the club level to represent their country at various competitions.
Some top players have switched their national teams
Over the years, the reasons for switching international allegiances have varied from player to player. After initially wanting to play for England, Michail Antonio recently opted to play for the Jamaican national team. This was because the switch would give him more chances to play at the international level.
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Many others have cited various reasons and decided to play for a different country. Here, we take a look at the top active players who have changed their international allegiances.
Honorable mentions: Wilfried Zaha & Dejan Kulusevski
#5 Ivan Rakitic
The 34-year-old midfielder returned to Sevilla in 2020 after a six-year spell with Barcelona. Ivan Rakitic, with his amazing vision and superb creative abilities, has been an effective playmaker of his generation.
Born in Switzerland, the central midfielder played for the Swiss team at the youth level. At the senior level though, Ivan Rakitic accepted then-Croatian manager Slaven Bilic's call to play for the national side.
Since then, the former Barcelona midfielder has been an integral part of the Croatian team. He was also part of the team that reached the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Rakitic retired from international football in September 2020. However, remains the fourth-most capped player in the history of the Croatian national team with 106 appearances.
#4 Kalidou Koulibaly
It is surprising how Kalidou Koulibaly is still at Napoli and not playing for one of the top European clubs. The central defender is an efficient player at the back courtesy of his strong tackling, smart positioning and amazing anticipation.
Born in France, Koulibaly played for the French youth team and was an important part of the team at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. In September of 2015, the talented centre-back decided to change his allegiance. Koulibaly decided to play for Senegal despite France manager Didier Deschamps showing interest in calling him up to the national team.
Koulibaly has been amazing for Senegal so far, having captained and taken them to victory in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The 30-year-old has also played an important role in helping his nation qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The centre-back told BBC Sport in 2018:
"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. For me [the World Cup] was a good experience because I wanted to show that Senegal is one of the best teams in Africa."
#3 Diego Costa
Not many players have been as notorious on a football pitch as Diego Costa. The former Atletico Madrid striker likes to be aggressive but is quite good when it comes to scoring goals.
Having been born in Brazil, Diego Costa was called up to the Brazilian national team in 2013 by then-manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The same year, the Royal Spanish Football Federation made an official request to call up Costa to the Spanish national team. This was because Costa had been granted Spanish citizenship that July.
Costa wasted little time in accepting the request and decided to play for Spain. The former Chelsea forward was a regular player for the Spanish national team until 2018, making 24 appearances for the nation. However, he has since struggled with his form for both club and country.
#2 Jack Grealish
The attacking midfielder made a sensational move to Manchester City at the beginning of the 2021-22 season. Jack Grealish became the most expensive English player in the history of the game in a transfer worth close to £100 million.
With his amazing ability to beat past players and carry the ball forward, Grealish is capable of creating and scoring goals on a regular basis. Having Irish ancestry, Grealish played for the Republic of Ireland at the youth level.
Grealish declined two call-ups to the Republic of Ireland's senior team to focus on his club career. However, in 2015, Grealish announced that he would represent England at the international level. He was eligible to represent the Three Lions as he was born in Birmingham, England.
Jack Grealish was part of the England squad at Euro 2020 and is very much likely to be a part of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
#1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Despite having a bad run in front of goal at Arsenal this season, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has turned things around at Barcelona. Since joining the Catalan club in the winter transfer window, the former Borussia Dortmund forward has been one of the star players in La Liga in 2022 so far.
With his blistering pace and brilliant goal-scoring abilities, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang can be a lethal threat in front of goal. Born in France, he was invited to play for the Italy U19s. However, the former Arsenal man opted to play for the French under-21 team.
Aubameyang was also eligible to play for Spain since he has Spanish nationality. Instead, he decided to play for Gabon as his father Pierre-Francois Aubameyang once captained the team.
Speaking about his decision to represent Gabon, Aubameyand told Arsenal’s official website:
"I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps. He was captain of the national side in the past, I could well have chosen to play for France or Spain. I played for the French under-21 team, but I realized very quickly that in my heart I wanted to emulate my father.”
Unfortunately, fans will not be able to see Aubameyang and the Gabonese team in the FIFA 2022 World Cup after they failed to qualify for the tournament.
