The tiny archipelago’s bravura performance against storied Spain was underpinned by its marvelously flexible definition of who belongs to it. 40% of the squad were born outside the country. Variations of this are true across world football. Bigger message: you needn’t have one homeland
World Cup is made of dreams. And debutant Cape Verde are living theirs, with their sensational effort to hold European champions, Spain, to a draw in their opening match on Monday. In another dream performance, in Sweden’s 5-1 win over Tunisia, 22-year-old Yasin Ayari scored two of Sweden’s goals, and was the standout performer of the match. Born in the Swedish city of Solna to Tunisian parents, Ayari was eligible to represent either Tunisia or Sweden at international level. In one of football’s many ironies, his World Cup breakthrough came against Tunisia. He chose not to celebrate his goals out of respect for a country he also considers his own.
Another of the early surprises of this World Cup was Morocco’s impressive draw against Brazil. Morocco’s goal was scored by Ismael Saibari from a pass by Brahim Díaz. Saibari represents Morocco, but he also holds Belgian and Spanish passports, having been born in Terrassa, a town near Barcelona. Brahim, who provided the assist, also holds a Spanish passport, as he was born in Dos Hermanas, near Seville.
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