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7 footballers who have represented two countries

Dual nationality has long been an intriguing and controversial topic among football fans. While some of the players decided to switch nations in order to play more frequently, others have chosen a team more capable of winning big tournaments. Here are five such players who played for two countries,

#7 Wilfried Zaha

Arguably the best dribbler in Premier League, Zaha was touted as a future Three Lions legend during his initial years with the English youth setup. But he was never assured of a spot in the senior team and decided to represent his native Ivory Coast team in 2016. He has since made 17 appearances for them.

#6 Nacer Chadli

The wondrous midfielder, being an owner of a dual-citizenship, was presented with the choice of embodying either Morocco or Belgium in the national contentions. The erstwhile Tottenham star chose to make his debut for Morocco in a friendly against Northern Ireland in 2010.

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In the ensuing year, realising the strength of the Belgian squad, he offered to join the ranks of the Yellow and Red brigade. Given the fact that he was not a part of any official matches for Morocco, he was given the nod to play for Belgium. Since in his inception in the Belgian colours he has managed to score 8 goals from 59 games.

#5 Thiago Motta

The treble winning defensive midfielder was born in Brazil and initially represented them in 2 games. A host of injuries followed and he found it difficult to break into the Brazil team which had too many great players to chose from. He finally decided to represent Italy in 2011 and was part of the outfit that reached the finals of EURO 2012.

#4 Diego Costa

Never short of controversies on and off the field, Diego Costa’s decision to abandon Brazil and represent Spain in the 2014 World Cup caused a lot of anger. He was booed by the Brazil fans after the humiliating 5-1 defeat for Spain against the Netherlands and was almost declared as a “Persona non grata” in Brazil after pressure from the public and the national team coach.

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#3 Michael Platini

A legendary midfielder of his era, Michael Platini went on to win three Balon D’Or awards for his heroic stint at Juventus and his glittering showdown for France. The erstwhile FIFA president went on to play for two nations as he represented France in 72 games, blasting home 42 goals and he also featured in a friendly for Kuwait against the Soviet Union.

#2 Ferenc Puskas

The legendary striker is by far the best player Hungary has ever produced and he scored almost a goal per game for them with 84 goals in 85 games. After representing Hungary in three World Cups, he played for Spain in the 1966 World Cup where they were eliminated in the group stages.

#1 Alfredo Di Stefano

Probably the first great Argentinian player, Di Stefano eventually decided to move to Spain as he was worshipped in Madrid. He was banned from representing Argentina after news broke out that he had appeared for Colombia in four friendlies without holding a passport. With great pressure from the Spanish FA, FIFA decided to allow Di Stefano to represent Spain in 1957 and he scored 23 goals in 31 games for them.

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