World Cup: Goalkeeper Set to Face Nation of His Birth in Group Stage in Bizarre Twist of Fate

• Canada’s World Cup goalkeeper was born in Croatia but his family fled to Serbia
• They eventually settled in Canada in the year 2000 when he was just 13
• Canada is in Group F alongside Croatia, Morocco and Belgium

It is extremely rare for a player to come up against a country he is affiliated with, especially in a grand stage like the World Cup.

But this is set to be the case with Canada goalkeeper Milan Borjan who is on a collision course with Croatia, his country of birth, in the World Cup group stages.

Borjan has been a consistent figure for the Canadian national team for nearly 10 years now, and his omnipresence is largely because of his superb performances in front of goal.

The Canadians have only played at one World Cup in their history, and the 2022 tournament will mark only the second time they are in the biggest football tournament in the world.

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Despite being in unfamiliar territory in the World Cup, Canada will hope to pull an upset, though it will be extremely difficult in a tricky Group F that consists of Belgium, Croatia and Morocco.

In what is now proving to be an interesting coincidence for Borjan, the very first World Cup he is set to play in will see him come up against Croatia, where he was born.

As reported on The Sun, Borjan was born in Knin, Croatia and honed his football skills in the small European country.

He played for Dinara Knin's youth side before his family eventually fled to Serbia, and he played for FK Radnicki Beograd where his talents were properly spotted.

At just 13 years old, his family moved once again, this time settling in Canada in the year 2000.

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He played for East Hamilton SC in Canada, before making the move to Mount Hamilton SC where he tried hard to break from being a promising youngster to entering into professional football.

His first professional contract came from a South American side - Quilmes in Argentina, but he only played for the club briefly before moving back to Serbia where he joined FK Rad.

It is with FK Rad that he earned his first call up for Canada.

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Sports Brief also earlier reported on how Alejandro Garnacho courted controversy after ‘liking’ a tweet that was rigged with explosive allegations.

A Twitter user commented that Garnacho was snubbed because he was Spanish. The 18-year-old liked the tweet before unliking it, but someone had already gotten a screenshot.

Garancho was born to a Spanish mother and represented the country at youth level. He was also called up for Argentina in March but did not play.