{"id":6645,"date":"2026-07-02T06:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T06:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=6645"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:55:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:55:16","slug":"england-football-world-cup-2026-team-and-migrants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2026\/07\/02\/england-football-world-cup-2026-team-and-migrants\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0England\u00a0football and other countries&#8217; world cup 2026 teams and migrants"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>England&#8217;s 2026 World Cup squad heavily reflects the country&#8217;s migration history, with <mark>over 20 players\u2014including the likes of Marc Gu\u00e9hi and others with parents born overseas<\/mark>\u2014having family roots in former colonies and the diaspora. This diversity has sparked public discussions highlighting how migrants and their children are the backbone of the national team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there is exactly <mark><strong>1<\/strong> Muslim player<\/mark> in the England squad for the 2026 World Cup: Tottenham Hotspur defender <strong>Djed Spence<\/strong>. <strong>Spence made history as the first openly Muslim player to ever represent England at a senior men&#8217;s tournament.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AND&#8230;By U.S. Immigration Attorney Seth Finberg<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the 2026 FIFA World Cup,&nbsp;<strong>289 of the 1,248 players<\/strong>&nbsp;(over 23%) were born in a country other than the one they represent. One out of every four players at this year&#8217;s tournament truly shows the level of global mobility, the number of dual nationalities, and relaxed FIFA eligibility rules within International Football (soccer).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of the 1,248 selected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, nearly 8% of them (99) were born in France alone (<em>according to analysis from Opta, verified by Le Monde<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>13 players for Algeria were born in France<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>11 for the Democratic Republic of Congo<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>10 for Senegal<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>8 for C\u00f4te d&#8217;Ivoire (Ivory Coast)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>7 seven for Tunisia<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>6 for Morocco<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>Haiti has 12 French born players as well (but we are focusing on Africa for now)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These 99 French born footballers likely represent the home countries of one (or both) of their parents. Some might stretch their national heritage to a grandparent (which is allowed by FIFA rules). The vast majority of French born players who do not suit up for&nbsp;<em>Les Bleus<\/em>&nbsp;wear the kits of African countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Dutch also dominate the list with 52 Dutch born players in the tournament who are not suiting up for the Orange of the Netherlands (67 if you count the additional 25 who represent Cura\u00e7ao). Germany has 50 players born in Deutschland who don&#8217;t wear the classic white kits of the DFB. England follows next with 47 British born players who don&#8217;t tie their boots for the Three Lions. Spain, Sweden, and Belgium all share the next ranking with 36 born players who each play for other countries. Austria and Switzerland have 30 players who suit up for such nations as Turkey and countries from the former Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"634\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-32-634x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6648\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-32-634x1024.png 634w, https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-32-186x300.png 186w, https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-32-768x1240.png 768w, https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-32-951x1536.png 951w, https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-32.png 1268w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"tw-target-text\" class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">U Aung Tin wrote:\"England Football Team\"<br><br>It is said that if you remove the players who are immigrants\u2014those originally from abroad\u2014only two players would remain in the England football team.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>For an analysis on how migration dynamics and diaspora communities have historically shaped and strengthened the makeup of international football squads in the 2026 World Cup:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/greenpeaceuk\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/greenpeaceuk\/\">greenpeaceuk<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/greenpeaceuk\/\"><\/a>15hDiversity is our greatest strength.\u2060<br>\u2060<br>The England football team shows that our country is stronger because of the many different people who have come here and made it their home. \u2060<br>\u2060<br>Sadly, extreme right politicians are trying to divide us right now. But we can&#8217;t let them, because divided societies are unfair and unequal ones that are unable to come together to tackle the huge issues we all face like the climate crisis.\u2060<br>\u2060<br>Please add your name to our urgent petition to help us prove that the MAJORITY of the UK stands against the divisive politicians trying to divide us &#8211; click link in bio to add your name.\u2060<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZsblKks1FQ\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZsblKks1FQ\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZsblKks1FQ\/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&amp;igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZsblKks1FQ\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZsblKks1FQ\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZsblKks1FQ\/?hl=en\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Did you know 20 players in the England squad could have &#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"28\" height=\"28\" src=\"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-30.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6646\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" src=\"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-31.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6647\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZsblKks1FQ\/?hl=en\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Guardian Sport<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DZsblKks1FQ\/?hl=en\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Instagram&nbsp;\u00b7&nbsp;17 Jun 2026<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This multicultural representation in sports has also triggered broader cultural debates. While many fans and commentators proudly point to the squad as a shining example of a successful multicultural society, other recent social issues have centered around the display of the England flag. Following summers marked by racist unrest and far-right anti-immigration demonstrations, the use of the St George&#8217;s Cross has become a subject of polarized debate. In some localized areas, councils have even attempted to restrict flying the England flag on public property to preserve community cohesion. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DZfjZCvjHck\/\">1<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/reel\/DaGWlHFI-i9\/\">2<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/kiran.ks.37017\/posts\/fifa-worldcup-is-one-period-when-the-anti-immigrant-voices-of-rich-european-and-\/3651227618387025\/\">3<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Would you like to know more about the <strong>specific background<\/strong> of certain players in the 2026 squad, or are you interested in the <strong>broader cultural and political debates<\/strong> surrounding football and immigration in the UK?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/globalbar.se\/2026\/06\/how-migration-became-a-key-to-world-cup-success\/\">How migration became a key to World Cup&nbsp;success<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"562\" src=\"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-33.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6649\" srcset=\"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-33.png 1000w, https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-33-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image-33-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Match between Vasco da Gama and Fluminense 2026 Brasileirao.. Photo: Shutterstock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The 2026 World Cup will feature more foreign-born players than any previous edition. Nearly a quarter of the 1,248 players selected for national teams were born in a different country from the one they will represent.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Few would have predicted Morocco\u2019s success at the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Heading into the tournament, they were ranked 22nd in the world and had never progressed beyond the round of 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet they beat Belgium, Spain and Portugal \u2013 countries that both then and now rank inside the world\u2019s top ten \u2013 on their way to becoming the first African nation ever to reach the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/topics\/fifa-world-cup-2026-186405\">semi-final<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Morocco\u2019s run was not only remarkable (and thoroughly deserved). It&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.compas.ox.ac.uk\/article\/moroccos-world-cup-the-diaspora-choose-to-champion-their-motherland#:%7E:text=But%20the%20Moroccan%20squad%20also,the%20Netherlands%2C%20Italy%20and%20Canada.\">also sparked debate<\/a>&nbsp;beyond football because 14 of the players in their 26-man squad were foreign-born, more than any other nation in the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 2026 World Cup will feature more foreign-born players than any previous edition. Nearly a quarter of the 1,248 players selected for national teams were born in a different country from the one they will represent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In some squads, the proportions are far higher than this \u2013 96% of Cura\u00e7ao\u2019s players were born abroad, as were 85% of the Democratic Republic of the Congo\u2019s and 73% of Morocco\u2019s. Overall, foreign-born players make up the majority of footballers in eight of the tournament\u2019s 48 squads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/740232\/original\/file-20260605-57-5llxdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/740232\/original\/file-20260605-57-5llxdm.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" alt=\"A bar chart showing the proportion of foreign-born players at football world cups since 1930.\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Migration has been part of the World Cup story since its inception. At the tournament\u2019s third edition in 1938, for example, 12% of players represented a country other than the one in which they were born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This was in part because Fifa&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/repub.eur.nl\/pub\/116453\/Gijs-van-Campenhout-Jacco-van-Sterkenburg-and-Gijsbert-Oonk-2019-Who-Counts-as-a-Migrant-Footballer.pdf#page=10\">didn\u2019t introduce regulations<\/a>&nbsp;governing football players\u2019 eligibility for national teams until 1962, meaning it was not uncommon for players to represent multiple countries throughout their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some players represent countries other than those in which they were born because they are eligible through a parent or grandparent. These players often emerge from diaspora communities created by earlier waves of migration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One example is 2018 World Cup finalist Ivan Rakiti\u0107, who was born and raised in Switzerland but chose to represent Croatia. In a 2025 interview, Rakiti\u0107&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tribalfootball.com\/article\/soccer-champions-league-rakitic-talks-about-luis-enrique-barcelona-s-new-generation-and-ballon-d-or-daf6efe0-da14-49fb-996f-01a73aaf1114#:%7E:text=Flashscore%3A%20Let%E2%80%99s%20start,it%27s%20not%20easy.%E2%80%9D\">explained<\/a>&nbsp;that when he had to choose between the two countries, his heart told him he should play for Croatia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other players qualify through residency requirements.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/portugoal.net\/selecao\/2636-players-who-were-born-outside-portugal-but-today-are-selecao-stars?utm_source#:%7E:text=Pepe%3A%20from%20Brazil,match%20against%20Finland.\">Pepe<\/a>, for example, was born in Brazil but played in four World Cups for Portugal between 2010 and 2022 after becoming a Portuguese citizen at the age of 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet foreign-born players are only part of the story. World Cup squads also contain many second-generation migrants. France\u2019s 2018 World Cup-winning squad is perhaps the best-known example: 12 of their 23 players had African parents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Such patterns are not random. France\u2019s squad reflected the country\u2019s colonial and postcolonial links with north and west Africa. Similarly, since the mid-2000s, Switzerland\u2019s national team has increasingly been shaped by migration from the former Yugoslavia following the conflicts and displacement that accompanied its breakup in the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>England\u2019s 2026 squad also tells a story about the country\u2019s migration history. Alongside Marc Gu\u00e9hi, who was born in Ivory Coast, at least nine players had a parent born overseas. Most have family roots in former British colonies in Africa and the Caribbean, reflecting patterns of post-second world war migration to the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, 24 players born in England have been selected by other World Cup teams. This includes five representing Scotland and 19 playing for countries beyond the British Isles (including the US, New Zealand and Ghana).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Does this matter on the pitch?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Relatively little research has examined whether national teams with more migrant players perform better on the pitch. But the available evidence suggests they do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/repository.digital.georgetown.edu\/concern\/guetds\/44d4a94d-5a70-46ff-9f8b-44a65b4258f2\">study<\/a>&nbsp;from 2022 analysed every World Cup between 1970 and 2018 and found that teams with more foreign-born players generally progressed further in the tournament. On average, each additional foreign-born player was associated with roughly 0.15 additional matches played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The relationship remained even after accounting for broader differences between countries, suggesting that migration may provide advantages beyond those associated with wealth or footballing tradition alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0167268123002561\">study from 2023<\/a>&nbsp;examined European national teams competing in World Cups and European Championships between 1970 and 2018. Using players\u2019 surnames to estimate their ancestral origins, it measured the diversity of backgrounds within each squad and found that more diverse teams tended to perform better on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Specifically, the research found that a one standard deviation increase in diversity led to an increase in goal difference (the number of goals a team scores minus the number of goals they concede) of around 1.3 per match on average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are at least two factors that might explain these results. First, migration can expand the pool of players available to a national team. Ghana\u2019s squad for the 2026 tournament draws heavily on diaspora communities in western Europe. This allows it to recruit players developed in some of the world\u2019s strongest football systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Second, migration may increase the diversity of skills available within a squad. Football players need&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/abs\/pii\/S0167268123002561#:%7E:text=Soccer%20performances%20tend,the%20team%20level.\">specific physical traits<\/a>&nbsp;and technical skills to succeed on the pitch. Central defenders, for example, are usually tall and physically strong. More attacking players, on the other hand, often require speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A more diverse population will probably provide a larger pool of potential players for each position, resulting in better complementarity at the team level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This does not mean that migration wins World Cups. Argentina won the 2022 World Cup without a single foreign-born player in their squad. Success also depends on population size, economic wealth and coaching. Lionel Messi playing for your team helps, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nonetheless, the limited evidence available indicates that migration may influence international football beyond simply changing the make-up of the teams competing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If Morocco\u2019s 2022 squad had been limited to players born and raised in Morocco, would they still have reached the semi-finals? We\u2019ll never know for sure. But if Cura\u00e7ao do so this time around, the role of migration in footballing success may become harder to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/ben-brindle-2305495\"><strong>Ben Brindle<\/strong><\/a><br><em>Researcher, Migration Observatory,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-oxford-1260\">University of Oxford<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This article is republished from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/\">The Conversation<\/a>&nbsp;under a Creative Commons license. Read the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-migration-became-a-key-to-world-cup-success-284626\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>England&#8217;s 2026 World Cup squad heavily reflects the country&#8217;s migration history, with over 20 players\u2014including the likes of Marc Gu\u00e9hi and others with parents born overseas\u2014having family roots in former colonies and the diaspora. This diversity has sparked public discussions highlighting how migrants and their children are the backbone of the national team. But there [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6645"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6659,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6645\/revisions\/6659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}