Euro 2024: Kylian Mbappe and 5 Stars With African Heritage Still in Continental Competition

• Kylian Mbappe could have represented Cameroon, thanks to his father's heritage, but chose to represent France instead
• Italian winger Stephan El Shaarawy is nicknamed Il Faraone, which means The Pharaoh, because of his Egyptian heritage
• Kwadwo Antwi Duah scored his first international goal for Switzerland at the tournament but could have represented Ghana

Euro 2024 is entering the knockout stages, and the action promises to be non-stop.

While all eyes are on Europe at the moment, Africa has a lot of reasons to be proud.

The continent can boast of having several stars participating in the tournament, and Sports Brief looks at some who have made it to the knockout stages.

6 African stars competing at Euro 2024

The biggest World Cup snubs: A list of footballers left out of their countries’ World Cup squad

Football

Kylian Mbappe - France

The French captain has only played two games, but he’s had quite the tournament to remember.

Mbappe has already broken his nose and scored his first goal of the tournament, and he will look to add to that tally when his French side takes on Belgium on July 1.

While he proudly represents Les Bleus, Mbappe could have played for Cameroon, his father’s birth country, or Algeria, through his mother’s side.

Stephan El Shaarawy – Italy

A product of Genoa’s youth structures, the AS Roma winger could have played for Egypt.

The 31-year-old was born to an Egyptian father in Italy, and his mother is Swiss Italian.

He is also nicknamed Il Faraone, which means The Pharaoh.

As noted by KingFut, he explained that he had been playing for Italy since he was 14 and wanted to continue his career with the Azzurri.

A list of Muslim footballers who converted to Christianity

Football

Jamal Musiala – Germany

The German youngster is lighting up the European Championship and is one of the tournament’s top scorers at the moment.

While he represents the host nation, the 21-year-old could represent four different nations, one of them being Nigeria.

Musiala’s father is a British Nigerian, and the youngster previously admitted that he can’t pick between the African nation and Germany.

While he didn’t choose to represent the Super Eagles, he will look to add to his goal tally when Germany takes on Denmark in the Round of 16.

Kwadwo Antwi Duah - Switzerland

The Swiss have a challenging task to overcome as they take on the defending champions in the Round of 16.

They will need all their attackers to be firing, and that includes Ghana’s Duah.

The 27-year-old was born in London and is of Ghanaian descent. He scored his first international goal for the Swiss in their win over Hungary in their opening game of the tournament, The Independent reported.

Eden Hazard: What Belgian superstar said about Mohamed Salah in 2019

Football

Danilo Pereira - Portugal

Portugal may still be coming to terms with its surprise loss against Georgia, but it now has Slovenia to look forward to in the next round.

The Portuguese side are a blend of experience and youth, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe defying age.

They also have 32-year-old midfielder Pereira in their team, a player born in Guinea-Bissau.

He moved to Lisbon at the age of five, and now plays for Paris Saint-Germain in France, a team he joined from FC Porto.

Yussuf Poulsen – Denmark

Denmark have the daunting task of taking on the host nation in a Round of 16 clash, and will call upon experienced players like Poulsen to try and get over the line.

Poulsen was born to a Tanzanian father and Danish mother, and chose to represent the European nation after being snubbed by the African country.

The centre-forward has made over 80 appearances for the Danes, and also stars for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

Lionel Messi blames neighbours for PSG ‘disasterclass’ as Argentine admits he was unhappy in France

Football

African stars not featuring at Euro 2024

Sports Brief recently looked at the players of African descent who would not feature at the European Championship.

The tournament in Germany features some of the biggest names in world football, but there are some missing.

Some stars with African heritage were expected to feature, but were surprisingly left out of national squads.