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Ticket Compare > Euro 2016 Championships: How Many Foreign Born Players Will Feature?

Euro 2016 Championships: How Many Foreign Born Players Will Feature?

Euro 2016 France

A popular topic of debate heading into any major football tournament is that of eligibility, particularly that resulting from the residency method. Looking ahead to the Euro 2016 Championships in France Ticket Compare conducted its own study to ascertain the number of foreign-born players in each squad, where they were born and how they are eligible.

The data was pulled from official sources such as Fifa, Opta and the squad sheets published on websites of first division club teams across Europe. The system used by Ticket Compare includes all players that have been featured in their respective national squads for group matches and international friendlies since the start of the qualifying campaign.

EURO 2016 Tickets

The outcome of the research indicates that Wales has called up the highest number of foreign-born players, a total of 9, all were born in England. Republic of Ireland has the second highest at 8, all of whom were born in the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland will feature 6 players born outside of the border, comprising of 5 Englishmen and a Canadian by birth. England’s only foreign born senior player is Raheem Sterling, born in Jamaica; however 18 footballers with an English passport will be turning out for other nations in this year’s tournament – 9 players representing Wales, 4 players representing ROI, 5 players representing N. Ireland.

There are 12 players from Africa and 6 players from North and South America that have earned call-ups to nations competing in Euro 2016.

No doubt the trimming of the squads due to form, injury and personal circumstance have forced managers’ to include last-minute changes which has affected the number of foreign born players in this year’s tournament, although the percentage remains higher than 30% for some teams, such as Wales, Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Euro 2016 Countries with Most Foreign Born Players

CountryNumber of Foreign Born PlayersPlayer NameCountry of Birth
Wales9Ashley WilliamsEngland
James ChesterEngland
Jonny WilliamsEngland
Sam VokesEngland
Simon ChurchEngland
George WilliamsEngland
Andy KingEngland
David EdwardsEngland
Hal Robson-KanuEngland
 Republic of Ireland8Jonathan WaltersEngland
Ciaran ClarkEngland
Richard KeoghEngland
Cyrus ChristieEngland
Shane DuffyN Ireland
Aiden McGeadyScotland
James McCarthyScotland
James McCleanN Ireland
Albania8Mërgim MavrajGermany
Arlind AjetiSwitzerland
Naser AlijiMacedonia
Freddie VeseliSwitzerland
Migjen BashaSwitzerland
Amir AbrashiSwitzerland
Shkëlzen GashiSwitzerland
Taulant XhakaSwitzerland
 Turkey7Nuri ŞahinGermany
Olcay ŞahanGermany
Hakan ÇalhanoğluGermany
Oğuzhan ÖzyakupNetherlands
Yunus MallıGermany
Cenk TosunGermany
Hakan BaltaGermany
 Portugal7Anthony LopesFrance
PepeBrazil
NaniCape Verde
William CarvalhoAngola
Danilo PereiraGuinea-Bissau
Adrien SilvaFrance
ÉderGuinea-Bissau
  Switzerland6François MoubandjeCameroon
Gélson FernandesCape Verde
Admir MehmediMacedonia
Johan DjourouCôte d’Ivoire
Valon BehramiKosovo
Xherdan ShaqiriKosovo
 Northern Ireland6Alan MannusCanada
Lee HodsonEngland
Oliver NorwoodEngland
Jamie WardEngland
Conor WashingtonEngland
Will GriggEngland
 Austria4György GaricsHungary
Martin HarnikGermany
Zlatko JunuzovićSerbia
Rubin OkotiePakistan
 France3Steve MandandaZaire
Patrice EvraSenegal
Dimitri PayetRéunion
 Italy2Thiago MottaBrazil
ÉderBrazil
 Croatia2Ivan RakitićSwitzerland
Mateo KovačićAustria
 Sweden2Emir KujovićMontenegro
Kári ÁrnasonSweden
 Belgium2Christian BentekeCongo
Christian KabaseleCongo
 Spain1Thiago AlcântaraItaly
England1Raheem SterlingJamaica
 Germany1Lukas PodolskiPoland
 Hungary1Nemanja NikolićSerbia
 Poland1Thiago CionekBrazil
 Ukraine1Andriy YarmolenkoRussia
 Slovakia///
Czech Republic///
 Romania///
 Russia///
 Iceland///
Aviran Zazon

Written by Aviran Zazon

The Ticket-Compare Staff is a team of football aficionados and ticketing experts at Ticket-Compare.com, committed to providing top-notch content. From insightful comparisons to the latest news, we ensure fans have reliable information to make informed decisions. Trust us to be your guide in the ever-exciting world of football.