When an athlete or a team competes at the Olympics or World Cup, they compete under their country’s flag. In football, that means they play for the national team of their home country. However, some players have decided to switch their nationalities to ensure they can play for a new country when it matters. Here are five cases of players that switched their nationality to play in the FIFA world cup 2022.
Inaki Williams: Spain to Ghana
Inaki Williams is probably one of the biggest surprises for Qatar 2022. He played for Spain U-21 and one match (against Bosnia and Herzegovina). Still, according to FIFA’s new rules, he became eligible in July to defend Ghana’s colors and be at the next FIFA World Cup with the African nation.
Inaki Williams is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Athletic Club. Born on October 1st, 1994, in Bilbao, Spain, he has played since 2011 for Athletic Bilbao B and has made appearances in LaLiga Santander with their senior side.
Aymeric Laporte: France to Spain
France-born Aymeric Laporte has been called up by Spain for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022, as reported by ESPN. He joins a long list of players who have switched their nationalities to play for the team they were born in.
France considered French-born Laporte for its U-17 and U21 teams, but he could not play during the qualifiers for Russia 2018 because of injuries. He later said that he would consider a call from Spain, which happened in 2016 when he played all three matches of Euro 2020 with them. The Manchester City center-back will likely be in Spain’s starting lineup for Qatar 2022.
Otavio: Brazil to Portugal
The latest case of a player switching nationality to play in the FIFA World Cup 2022 is Otavio. The Brazilian midfielder was called up to play for Brazil’s U-21 and U-23 teams, but he decided to switch to Portugal in 2021. He has a big chance of playing in Qatar in 2022 with the European side.
This is not the first time this has happened; several players have switched countries due to their history. Portugal and Brazil have had many players that could have defended both colors due to their history, but Otavio is the most recent case.
Matty Cash: England to Poland
Matty Cash was born in England but now defends Poland’s colors. In 2021, he decided to change his nationality and play for his mother’s country. He was first called for Qatar 2022 Qualifiers and played against Andorra and Hungary, but there are big chances for him to be a starter in the next FIFA World Cup.
He was born in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, to Polish parents. He has represented England at youth levels and played at the 2017 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where he scored three goals in five appearances. He has also represented England at the under-20 level.