Mayra Madrigal
The world of soccer already knows the 32 teams that will play the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 between November 20 and December 18. The World Cup, which takes place every four years in a different location, is the most important soccer event and every player wants to be there. For this reason, some players are even capable of changing their nationality.
Although the teams have not defined their final squads for the World Cup in Qatar, during the qualifiers there were already some indications of who could be important players for the coaches.
Five of the 32 teams that will participate in the World Cup have called up players who have changed nationality, precisely in pursuit of the dream of playing in a World Cup. JefeBet tells you who are the five players who do not represent the country where they were born.
Five Soccer Players who Changed their Nationality to play The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Otavio – Portugal
Otavio Edmilson da Silva, better known as Otavio in the soccer world, was born in Brazil, but in 2014 he emigrated to Portuguese soccer and after almost a decade of playing in the Old Continent, he got his Portuguese passport. In addition to helping him not to be counted as a foreigner in his team, this earned him a call-up to the Portugal National Team. The midfielder participated in the European qualifiers for Qatar 2022, so he could be part of the squad that will attend the tournament.
Iñaki Williams – Ghana
Athletic Club striker Iñaki Williams was born in Bilbao, Spain, but is of Ghanaian descent. In 2015, thanks to his good performance, he was considered for Spain’s Under 21 national team, and later he was even taken to the senior team. He was part of the “Roja” process towards Russia 2018, but in the end he did not make it to the final squad. This 2022 he announced that he will represent the Ghana National Team, so we will possibly see him make his debut at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Aymeric Laporte – Spain
Defender Aymeric Laporte, who plays for Manchester City in the Premier League, is one of the players who changed his nationality. He was born in France and during his youth he was called up by the French National Team. However, in 2021 he became a naturalized Spaniard and was quickly taken into account by the Spain national team to play the UEFA Euro. After having played in youth World Cup with France, now everything indicates that he will be in Qatar as player of the Spanish National Team.
Matty Cash – Poland
Matty Cash was born in the United Kingdom and has spent his entire soccer career in that country, but due to his mother’s ascendancy, the player opted to obtain another nationality. The Aston Villa player applied for Polish citizenship in 2021 and months after being recognized as a Polish player, he was called up to the national team to play a match in the World Cup qualifiers for Qatar 2022.
Rogelio Funes Mori – Mexico
Rogelio Funes Mori was born in Argentina, but fate brought him to Mexican soccer and after several seasons playing with Rayados de Monterrey he applied for Mexican nationality. Since before he began the process to become a Mexican, the “Mellizo” had repeatedly said that his intention was to seek a place in the Mexican National Team, so once he completed the process he was called up by coach Gerardo Martino. In the past he was part of Argentina Under 21 team, but since 2021 he has been playing with the “green” team.
