Dual citizenship means Germany now in competition for talent

When Jürgen Klopp named his oversize squad for Germany for the upcoming international break, a number of other national team coaches will have taken notice.

Among them was Mohamed Ouahbi, of Morocco, who lamented that he had already had Eintracht Frankfurt striker Younes on his radar since last season.

"He had a profile that interested us. I spoke to him on the phone and explained the Morocco project to him — without making any promises," Ouahbi said.

If the 23-year-old Ebnoutalib sees any action in the UEFA Nations League over the next couple of weeks, as expected, he will be cap-tied to Germany — and ineligible to play for Morocco in the future.

This is by no means a unique situation. A growing number of Germany players in recent years have held another citizenship through their parents and thus have other options for their international careers.

This applies to several members of Klopp's 44-man squad. Vitaly Janelt, whose father moved to Germany to play professional ice hockey, is also eligible to represent Czechia . Bambase Conte's father is from Guinea, and Josha Vagnoman has an Ivorian father. Finn Dahmen has an English mother, while fellow goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has Nigerian roots. Said El Mala's father hails from Lebanon, and Brajan Gruda's father was an Albania international.

本文の著作権はDeutsche Welleにあります。