In Qatar, multiple sets of brothers will band together to convert their sibling rivalry into a shared goal of winning the World Cup for their respective countries. Five pairs of siblings will be present this week as they pursue their childhood aspirations on a global stage when the tournament begins.
However, there are several examples of brothers in soccerwho share more than just a common ancestor or bloodline. Thus, there have been very few documented cases of brothers cheering for opposing national teams or even wearing separate jerseys at the World Cup. Themost recent incident involves the Williams brothers of Athletic Club.
The older one,Inakiagreed to play for Ghana back in July, and he will make his debut for the Black Stars on September 23 against Brazil. On the other hand, Nico, a winger in his early 20s, has been added to Luis Enrique’s rosterand is in line to make his Spain debut in the upcoming World Cup matches against Switzerland and Portugal.
Who were the first brothers to compete in the World Cup for opposing teams?
Brothers Jerome Boateng of Germany and Kevin-Prince Boateng of Ghana. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)
At the Ghana vsGermany matchup in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 23, 2010, Kevin-Prince Boatengof Ghanaand Jerome Boatengof Germanymade history as the first brothers to play for different nations in the FIFA World Cup and the first set of brothers to face against one another.
The Boateng brothers’ peculiar rivalry found them on different sides of the game, with the result that their animosity against one another further grew. Ghana’s Black Stars were led by Kevin-Prince in 2010, while Jerome represented Germany.The two siblings share thesame Ghanaian father but were each raisedbydifferent mothers.While they spent a lot of time together as kids, they each ended up choosing to represent a separate country.
The relationship between the two has always remained strong and positive. It’s worth noting that the two squads were placed in the same groupin South Africa during the 2010 World Cup. Thus, onJune 21 of that year,theyplayed against each other for the first time in the Group Stage with Germany taking home the three points.
Both brothers were also representing their respective countries at the World Cup in 2014, as Ghana and the Nationalelfhad included both of them in their respective squads. A rematch between the two resulted in a tie score of 2-2.
Watch the World Cup on fuboTV
Enjoy all the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup matches from the United States throughFuboTV.Click hereand to take advantage of their 7-day free trial offer.
Who do you think will win the tournament? Using thisWorld Cup Predictor, you can see every potential outcome of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
