{"id":295492,"date":"2025-11-19T19:50:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T19:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295492\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T19:50:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T19:50:14","slug":"three-ex-man-utd-stars-have-switched-nationalities-and-qualified-for-their-first-ever-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/295492\/","title":{"rendered":"Three ex-Man Utd stars have switched nationalities and qualified for their first ever World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The World Cup is the zenith of any player\u2019s international career, and three ex-Man Utd players have taken a roundabout way to get there in a remarkable story. <\/p>\n

With the 2026 World Cup expanding to 48 teams instead of 32, the chances for some of the dark horses to make a surprise run increased. <\/p>\n

The wealth of talent at the disposal of heavyweight nations meant that many capable players didn\u2019t get a look in, which has now changed. <\/p>\n

\"mailJoin our newsletter for news & smart analysis. <\/p>\n

Three former Man Utd<\/a> players switched nationalities and backed themselves to help their new country get over the line, and they succeeded brilliantly. <\/p>\n

\"AaronPhoto by Ash Donelon\/Manchester United via Getty ImagesAaron Wan-Bissaka<\/p>\n

There was a time when Aaron Wan-Bissaka<\/a> was so good at Old Trafford<\/a> that there were genuine calls for him to start over the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and more. <\/p>\n

Since then, not only have England\u2019s right-back options increased, Wan-Bissaka also had to take a step back in his career, joining West Ham<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Wan-Bissaka had a good season for West Ham<\/a>, but knowing that his England prospects had ended, he switched his country to DR Congo. <\/p>\n

That move paid off massively, as he became one of the first names on the teamsheet for the African nation en route to qualifying for the World Cup. <\/p>\n

Are you excited for World Cup 2026 in the USA? <\/p>\n

Their final scalp was the much-fancied Nigerian team led by Victor Osimhen, also eliminating Bryan Mbeumo\u2019s Cameroon<\/a> in the process. <\/p>\n

Axel Tuanzebe<\/p>\n

Like Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe<\/a> had the world at his feet at Man Utd when he broke through, but injury worries<\/a> and poor management by the club let him down.<\/p>\n

Once tipped as a future captain of the England national team, he took a similar route to Wan-Bissaka, switching his nationality to DR Congo to become teammates with him.<\/p>\n

He has already made seven appearances for the national team and will fancy his chances of starting on international football\u2019s biggest stage next summer. <\/p>\n

\"ErikPhoto by James Gill \u2013 Danehouse\/Getty ImagesTahith Chong<\/p>\n

Tahith Chong\u2019s<\/a> story is even more remarkable than Tuanzebe\u2019s and Wan-Bissaka\u2019s, because he switched his nationality from the Netherlands to Curacao.<\/p>\n

Today, Curacao has become the smallest-ever nation to qualify for the World Cup, with a population of just 155,000. <\/p>\n

They beat Steve McClaren\u2019s Jamaica in the playoff final to seal their place and make history, with Tahith Chong being a crucial part of the puzzle. <\/p>\n

Chong made his debut for Curacao in September 2025 and has already scored two goals in two games<\/a>. A goal for his country at the World Cup next summer will be the stuff of dreams. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The World Cup is the zenith of any player\u2019s international career, and three ex-Man Utd players have taken…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[169511,64,63,169512,596,85,169513],"class_list":{"0":"post-295492","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-aaron-wan-bissaka","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-axel-tuanzebe","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-tahith-chong"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}