Nigeria no, England no, Austria yes
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 10.03.26. | 15:15
Former Chelsea player surprised a few people with his decision
Ahead of the upcoming World Cup, many changes are expected. National coaches are putting together their provisional squads, accessing the current squads, monitoring players and preparing for the unpleasant tasks of cutting players from the final list. We already saw reports that Carlo Ancelotti is frustrated with Neymar’s physical condition, but from Europe comes a totally different news. In Austria, they just got a major boost ahead of the trip to the USA as a football star on the rise decided to switch alliances and play for his country of birth.
Carney Chukwuemeka was an England international and played for all young selections for the Three Lions. In fact, he played every game of England's Under 19 Euros title victory in 2022, including scoring the second goal in the Young Lions' 3-1 extra time victory over Israel in the final. But now he will play for Austria, as he got the call from former Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick. Austria will participate at the World Cup after 28 years and the manager wants to check Chukwuemeka in friendly matches against Ghana and South Korea.
FIFA allows players to switch national teams once if they hold dual citizenship, and provided they have played no more than three competitive senior matches before turning 21. Chukwuemeka has never made a senior appearance for England, but he got the call for U21 squad in March 2025. He was injured and missed the games against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg. Currently, Chukwuemeka is at Dortmund, where he spent some time on a loan from Chelsea before making a move permanent in June 2025 for 24 million euros. Interestingly, Chukwuemeka was born in Vienna to Nigerian parents and was raised in Northampton. He is eligible to play for any of these three countries and he played for two of them, and yet not for Nigeria.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE - ROUND OF 16
Tuesday
20.45: (4.30) Galatasaray (4.05) Liverpool (1.85)
23.00: (4.70) Atalanta (4.50) Bayern (1.70)
23.00: (1.73) Atl.Madrid (3.60) Tottenham (5.10)
23.00: (2.70) Newcastle (4.00) Barcelona (2.45)
Wednesday
20.45: (5.65) Leverkusen (4.30) Arsenal (1.62)
23.00: (2.60) Bodo (3.80) Sporting (2.65)
23.00: (2.00) PSG (3.60) Chelsea (4.00)
23.00: (3.50) Real Madrid (3.90) Man.City (2.05)
***odds are subject to change***