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Januzaj of Manchester United to play for Belgium at World Cup

Januzaj of Manchester United to play for Belgium at World Cup

Posted April. 25, 2014 01:00,   

한국어

Adnan Januzaj, a 19-year-old professional football player who plays as a winger for the English club Manchester United, has opted to play for Belgium.

Marc Wilmots, a coach of the Belgian national football team, announced the news on Thursday via Twitter by saying, “I received official confirmation that Adnan Januzaj has made himself available to the Belgian national team. Now I can draw the talented player.” The reason that Wilmots released the news even before the official announcement by the Belgian Football Association is that he has made so many efforts to have Januzaj in his team.

Januzaj born in Brussels, Belgium has a pool of nationalities to choose from because his parents and grandparents have all different ethnicities. His father is from Kosovo and his mother is from Albania with a dual citizenship of Croatia. His grandfather is from Turkey while his grandmother is from Serbia.

FIFA allows players to play for the nation of their parents or grandparents. So, the young talented play has been desired not just by Belgium but by Croatia and Albania. Unless he had not chosen Belgium this time, he could be selected for the English national team in 2018, because FIFA allows players to play for the nation they have resided for at least five years since their 18th birthday.

Januzaj joined the Manchester United led by Alex Ferguson in 2011 when he was only 16. He drew much attention then. When several teams tried to scout Januzaj during this season, the club even warned other clubs by saying, “Januzaj is our player and he will be.” This shows the club’s strong belief in the player’s potential in the future. Januzaj recorded four goals and three assists in 24 games during this season, including the goal in the recent game against New Castle on April 5. He is great at dribbling and cutting inside, but gets fouled unnecessarily often, which is pointed out as his weakness.

In the meantime, Belgium will face Korea in Group H at the upcoming World Cup in Brazil.