12 European Internationals With African Blood

Africa is indirectly responsible for producing many world class footballers over the years, though many of these talents never actually represented African countries. Here are 12 stars who chose to play for European nations instead of their country of heritage.

England international duo Dele Alli and Joe Gomez both have African heritage, although the pair are tipped to have long and successful careers on the international stage for the Three Lions. While Alli could have played for Nigeria, Gomez could have chosen to represent Gambia.

Two Portugal stars feature in the list – Gelson Martins and Joao Mario. Like many Portuguese stars of African descent, Martins’ heritage is Cape Verdean, while his colleague's is Angolan.

Netherlands central defender Nathan Ake might have been playing for Ivory Coast had he chosen another path, while Germany and Manchester City winger Leroy Sane has Senegalese blood through his father, who represented Senegal at international level.

Belgium international Youri Tielemans is of Congolese descent, while his international colleague Marouane Fellaini has Moroccan heritage.

Four French internationals also feature in the shape of Corentin Tolisso, Nabil Fekir, Wissam Ben Yedder and Kylian Mbappe.

Bayern Munich's Tolisso could have represented Togo on the big stage, while Sevilla's Ben Yedder could have played for Tunisia, who are gearing up for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

Like Karim Benzema and Zinedine Zidane, Fekir is of Algerian heritage, while Paris Saint-Germain wonderkid Mbappe could have represented Cameroon at the highest level.

Can you name any other European players who could have played for African countries? Let us know in the comments section below. 

Africa is indirectly responsible for producing many world class footballers over the years, though many of these talents never actually represented African countries. Here are 12 stars who chose to play for European nations instead of their country of heritage.