Four (4) footballers of African descent are playing for European and Asian national teams at the 2022 World Cup where they have already scored some countries of their continent of origin.
They most of them scored goals during this 1st day of the Qatar World Cup 2022. Gakpo and Embolo in particular stunned thousands of fans in Africa.
Cody Gakpo
It was the Teranga lions who were the first to suffer the wrath of an African of origin in the person of the Dutch striker Cody Gakpo.
Although born on Dutch lands, the young Gakpo does not deny his Togolese origins because his father Johnny Gakpo is himself a Togolese footballer.
Kylian Mbappe
It would be anecdotal to dwell on the M’bappé case, who chose French nationality.
He is currently the pride of France, which has done everything possible to avoid him joining the club of his dreams, Real Madrid.
The 23-year-old can once again surprise Africa, especially in next Wednesday’s match against Tunisia.
Mohammed Muntari
Mohammed Muntari is a Ghanaian-born naturalised Qatari footballer who currently plays as a striker for Al-Duhail and the Qatar national team.
Against Senegal on Friday, Muntari was the only player who offered Qatar a single goal. He had to pull the ball from Edouard Mendy’s hand to celebrate his goal.
The game however ended 3-1 as The Lions of Teranga registered their first victory in this tournament.
Breel Embolo
The Swiss of Cameroonian origin Breel Embolo is certainly the binational player who will have marked this 2022 World Cup.
First, he had the heavy playing load against Cameroon, his home country.
Then, he is the author of the only goal which seriously thwarts the chances of qualification of the indomitable lions for the second round because they still have Serbia and Brazil to play.
Clearly, if on this first day no African team records a victory, one of the reasons is that brave talents from the continent have chosen to wear the jerseys of European selections. Moreover, this Africa does nothing to attract and keep said talents.
Source: AfrikPage