Last month, the United States of America (USA) once again debated birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court weighed in, President Donald Trump had his say, and one of the country’s defining realities came into focus: the USA is, and has long been, a nation shaped by immigrants.
‘Give me your tired, your poor; Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...’ begins the famous excerpt from American poet Emma Lazarus’ sonnet inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
It was, therefore, fitting that the FIFA World Cup 2026, co-hosted by the USA, Mexico and Canada, became a celebration of football’s own immigrant story.
Mbappé fires his way to the adidas Golden Boot 🔥@adidasfootballpic.twitter.com/B7czVjLCCU
From France’s Kylian Mbappe, born to Cameroonian and Algerian parents, to Spain’s Lamine Yamal, whose father is Moroccan and mother Equatorial Guinean, some of the tournament’s brightest stars served as a reminder of how migration has reshaped not just nations, but the beautiful game itself.
No edition of the FIFA World Cup has featured as many foreign-born players as the 2026 tournament, with only eight of the 48 teams fielding squads made up entirely of home-born players.
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Nestory Irankunda, born in a refugee camp in Tanzania before moving to Australia, scored the Socceroos’ first goal of the tournament, becoming their youngest-ever World Cup goalscorer. Ibrahim Mbaye, meanwhile, became Africa’s youngest World Cup goalscorer after the France-born forward scored for Senegal against the country of his birth.
According to a study by the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), nearly one in four players at this World Cup represented a country different from the one in which they were born. Compared to the previous edition, which marks a 40 per cent increase — a tournament record.
FIFA has been refining its rules in this regard since 1960, with players now allowed to switch national allegiance through lineage or naturalisation only once.
A player can also switch national teams after representing another country, provided those appearances were less than three in senior competitive matches. That allowed Declan Rice to switch from Ireland to England and Diego Costa from Brazil to Spain.
Debutant Curacao is a striking example of this. All but one of its players — Tahith Chong — were born in the Netherlands. So too was Sidny Lopes Cabral, who almost stunned defending champion Argentina with a jaw-dropping goal for Cape Verde.
Switching national allegiances has also produced unique examples of brothers or half-brothers representing different countries at this World Cup. Such as Harry and John Souttar (Australia and Scotland), Desire and Guela Doue (France and Ivory Coast), Nico and Iñaki Williams (Spain and Ghana), and half-brothers Derrick Luckassen and Brian Brobbey (Ghana and the Netherlands).
But there has also been criticism from certain quarters, whether driven by racism or other concerns.
Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter warned in 2007 that naturalisation could lead to an “invasion” of Brazilian players across several national teams.
At this World Cup, however, only four Brazil-born players represented other countries — far from the scenario he feared.
Ahead of the World Cup semifinal between France and Spain, former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy criticised Les Bleus for fielding too many players of foreign heritage, writing: “... one thing they don’t have is any French players.” In reality, 23 of France’s 26-man squad were born in the country.
France has, in fact, not only nurtured players for its own national team but also for several others that featured at this World Cup. According to Opta, 99 of the tournament’s 1,248 players were born in France.
There is a broader subplot here, especially for India, whose FIFA ranking and international performances have stagnated over the past three years.
The country has a stringent policy against dual citizenship and allows players to represent India only after surrendering their previous passport, unlike neighbouring nations such as Bangladesh and Pakistan.
While Bangladesh welcomed Hamza Choudhury into its national team last year, Pakistan brought Easah Suliman into its senior side. Both were born and raised in England and had represented the Three Lions at the age-group level.
Hamza Choudhury (centre) in action for Bangladesh against India. In the return leg, he helped his country beat India for the first time in 22 years. | Photo Credit: Ritu Raj Konwar
Morocco, however, offers perhaps the strongest case study. By embracing members of its diaspora, the African nation reached a historic semifinal in Qatar 2022 before advancing to the quarterfinals this time.
Against five-time champion Brazil in this tournament, the Atlas Lions played 25 minutes without a single player born in Morocco. In the quarterfinals, they faced France, whose midfield architect, Michael Olise, grew up in England and chose to represent Les Bleus through lineage, helping them reach the semifinals with seven assists.
Qatar, on the other hand, has relied heavily on naturalisation, with 14 of its 26 World Cup players born outside the country. The AFC Asian Cup champion earned a point and scored against Bosnia and Herzegovina after qualifying for the World Cup on merit for the first time.
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India, meanwhile, has taken tentative steps in this direction. Former Australia under-23 international Ryan Williams joined the Blue Tigers last year after giving up his Australian passport.
The impact was immediate. He scored on his debut to help India beat Hong Kong 2-1 in the AFC Asian Cup qualifiers, securing its first qualifying win in 15 months.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has also been in discussions with the Sports Ministry over a special Sports Passport that would allow Overseas Citizens of India or Persons of Indian Origin (OCIs/PIOs) to represent the senior national team.
Ryan Williams’ (centre) success story is what the AIFF will look to emulate to attract more OCIs and PIOs. | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat
However, India may be functioning on borrowed time as other Asian nations continue to progress rapidly.
Uzbekistan and Jordan made their World Cup debuts, Iraq returned to the tournament after a 40-year absence, and Iran narrowly missed reaching the round of 32.
For decades, the World Cup has stood as a beacon of unity and sportsmanship. With immigrants taking centre stage in the 2026 edition, it reminded us once again that when the ball is kicked, what matters is who scores, not where they come from.
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Published on Jul 22, 2026