Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne Eligible to Represent Burundi but Chose to Play for Belgium Instead

• Kevin de Bruyne represents the Belgian national team but could represent Burundi in AFCON as well
• Manchester City's maestro score 19 goals this season and proved why he's a midfield maestro for club and country
• Kevin de Bruyne's mother was born in Burundi, making him eligible to switch to the East African side as well

Kevin de Bruyne has had a brilliant season for Manchester City and continues to be a star for the Belgian national team.

The Man City maestro has played 45 games in all competitions this season and scored 19 while providing 14 assists.

The Belgian midfielder has also scored 23 goals for his country during his career, but did you know that de Bruyne could have replicated that same success for Burundi?

De Bruyne’s mother, Anne, was born in Burundi and lived there for some time before moving to Europe, Sportskeeda reported. As a result, De Bruyne was eligible to play for the African nation but chose to represent Belgium, the home of his birth, instead.

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Football

Many European players have roots in Africa and are eligible to play here. Ghana are one African country exploiting this, as they are determined to sign talented European players to national contracts.

Eddie Nketiah, Tariq Lamptey and Callum Hudson-Odoi are just three of the European based players with Ghanaian heritage that The Black Stars secured deals with.

Burundi are currently ranked 139th in the world and 41st in Africa, according to the FIFA rankings, and could definitely use a player like de Bruyne. They have a chance to qualify for AFCON 2023 but are drawn in the same group with Cameroon, Namibia and Kenya in the qualifiers.

Meet the Ghanaian Born Players Who Are Undecided Over Their International Future

Sports Brief earlier reported that Eddie Nketiah and Callum Hudson-Odoi have both secured their passports to switch their allegiances to play for Ghana.

But there are more talented Ghanaian-born stars who are unsettled about which nation to pledge their international future

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Football

Sports Brief looks at Ghanaian-born players who are yet to decide on which country to represent

England Born Defender Tariq Lamptey Agrees to Play for Ghana

Tariq Lamptey has agreed to switch his nationality from his country of birth, England to Ghana, according to London-based Ghanaian coach Freddie.

The marauding wing-back has been on the wishlist of the Ghana Football Association and the news of his nationality switch will be warmly received with the AFCON qualifiers on the horizon.

Lamptey has represented England at the youth level and recently received a call-up to the England U21 in March but is still eligible to play for Ghana and if the account of coach Freddie is anything to go by then the Brighton defender will be committing his future to the West African nation.