A look at twelve footballers, past and present, who could’ve represented different national sides…
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1) Mesut Ozil
A World Cup winner with Germany in the summer of 2014, Arsenal star Mesut Ozil is probably glad to have turned down the opportunity to play for Turkey.
2) Miroslav Klose
Another German star who could’ve played for a less successful nation, Miroslav Klose was eligible for Poland as well as for last summer’s World champions.
3) Danny Welbeck
Now an England regular, but Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck considered playing for Ghana when it looked like he might not make it into the Three Lions’ plans.
4) David Trezeguet
A World Cup and European Championship winner with France, David Trezeguet was also eligible to play for Argentina, and has spent time playing for a number of their clubs such as River Plate.
5) Diego Costa
He could’ve played for Brazil…in fact he DID play for Brazi – Chelsea striker Diego Costa made appearances only in friendlies for his home nation before opting to represent his adopted country Spain instead.
6) Adnan Januzaj
Manchester United youngster Adnan Januzaj had a number of options on the table for him at international level, eligible to play for the likes of Croatia, Kosovo and even England before eventually deciding on Belgium.
7) Carl Jenkinson
Despite plenty of competition for an England place, Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson decided to try his luck with a career with the Three Lions over Finland, whom he played for at youth level.
8) Lukas Podolski
Like Klose, Germany forward Lukas Podolski was originally from Poland and could have played for them instead.
9) Ryan Giggs
An England youth international under the name ‘Ryan Wilson’, Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs opted instead to play for Wales and as such became one of the best players never to feature in a major international tournament.
10) Victor Moses
Once considered an exciting prospect for England at Under-21 level, Victor Moses instead chose to play for the Nigerian national team.
11) Gonzalo Higuain
The opposite of David Trezeguet, Gonzalo Higuain is a World Cup finalist for Argentina but could also have played for France.
12) Rafael van der Vaart
A long-serving member of the Dutch national team, Rafael van der Vaart is also half Spanish and could have played for the team that beat the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final.