Choosing a country: how dual-national stars end up with the USMNT

Every soccer-obsessed kid dreams of scoring the winning goal for their country in a World Cup final. But “which country?” is an increasingly common question for future stars around the world.

Global migration has continued to rise in recent decades, profoundly affecting the makeup of international soccer teams. More and more players now have multiple nations they could represent.

FIFA’s rules have adapted to keep pace with the growing phenomenon, giving young players more leeway to switch from one nation to another, provided certain conditions are met.

How FIFA’s nationality switch rules work

For a long time, earning a cap in a competitive senior game meant a player was tied to that country forever.

Since 2021, though, that has no longer been the case. The relaxed rules mean players can now switch nationality if they played no more than three competitive senior games for one country before the age of 21, provided three years have passed since their last appearance. Additionally, any player hoping to switch cannot have appeared for their former country in a major tournament such as the World Cup, Gold Cup, European Championship or Copa América.

As was previously the case, friendly games are not included. Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice is a high-profile example, having played three friendlies for the Republic of Ireland in 2018 before switching to England the following year.

In a USMNT context, Julián Araújo (Mexico), Esmir Bajraktarević (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Fafà Picault (Haiti) all appeared for the Stars and Stripes in noncompetitive games before deciding their international futures lay elsewhere.

On the flip side, numerous current stars opted to play for the USMNT when they had other options on the table. But what motivated them to do so?

Opportunity, glory or feeling?

Is choosing a national team about opportunity? It is probably not controversial to suggest international caps are easier to earn with the United States than with France, Spain or Argentina.

Then again, few would argue France, Spain and Argentina, at least at present, are more likely to make a deep World Cup run. For some players, perhaps that would be the more appealing route.

Or is it simply about feeling? You either “feel” American or you don’t. But what if some players feel both American and Mexican? Nobody can tell another person how or what they feel.

A fascinating conundrum.

“That’s my home”

Tim Weah, for instance, could have turned out for France, Jamaica or Liberia in addition to the United States, the country of his birth and where he grew up. Father George, of course, served as president of Liberia between 2018 and 2024 and remains the only African soccer player to win the Ballon d’Or, doing so in 1995.

“I have always had a special feeling (for the United States), so the choice was natural,” Weah told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport in 2022.

“The fact that my father is the president of Liberia did not influence my decision, my parents have always given me a lot of freedom and I think I made the right decision as we are about to qualify for the World Cup, it would be a dream.”

Folarin Balogun also had multiple options. Born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents, it came as something of a surprise when he declared for the United States in 2023. The Monaco striker moved to the United Kingdom when he was just a month old and grew up in London. He played for England from U17 through U21 level but ultimately decided his future was with the United States, having briefly played for the USYNT in 2018.

“My decision to represent the United States, it came together with my family,” Balogun explained to ussoccer.com. “We decided it would be the right thing for me, to represent the country I was born in. In the end it became a no-brainer, but for sure, it’s just something I wanted to do and it feels like I’m at home here.”

“Feel.” The all-important word.

For Gio Reyna, born in England to former USMNT midfielder Claudio Reyna and of Portuguese and Argentine descent, that was all that mattered.

“For me it’s very clear,” Reyna said in an interview with Dortmund newspaper Ruhr Nachrichten during his time with the Bundesliga club. “I only want to play for the USA. That’s my home.”

Loyalty and opportunity

For others, committing to the United States came down to loyalty, either to U.S. Soccer, coaches who backed them along the way or the country itself.

Ricardo Pepi was eligible to play for both the United States and Mexico through his parents and attended training camps with both countries at U17 level. For the PSV striker, turning down Mexico was no easy decision, but it was influenced bys the support both he and his family received during his rise as a young prospect.

“I am a Mexican-American and that I am super proud of my heritage,” Pepi said in a 2021 interview with FC Dallas. “It’s something that will never be taken away from me, no matter what national team I play for.

“I made this decision because I felt the USA trusts me and I think that’s due to (then USMNT head coach) Gregg Berhalter and how he emphasized this to me. I had good talks with Gregg and I feel I can make an impact with the USA and help this national team really do something special now and in the future.”

“This country has given my family so many opportunities and it really has helped me achieve my goals,” Pepi continued. “What better way to help them by hopefully one day lifting up a World Cup?”

Sergiño Dest, born in the Netherlands to an American-Surinamese father, is similarly appreciative of the role U.S. Soccer played in his development. The PSV right back, who has only ever represented the Stars and Stripes, spoke of his gratitude toward the USMNT in an interview with ESPN in 2020.

“A lot of people only want you when it’s going well,” Dest explained while still an Ajax player. “The USMNT helped me when it didn’t go well, and I’m thankful for that. They helped me through hard times, and if they hadn’t given me a chance, maybe I wouldn’t be here now with Ajax. Maybe I’d never have reached this level.”

In some cases, the pathway into international soccer mattered just as much as nationality itself.

First-choice left back Antonee Robinson, who was born and raised in England, revealed the decision to play for the United States was initially driven by opportunity.

“When I was younger coming through Everton’s academy, I was quite a late developer, so I wasn’t at the forefront of the players who were getting called up for England,” the defender told fulhamfc.com in 2021.

“There were lads coming through my team who, from the age of 15, were playing for England. And I was never considered by any international team.”

The United States reached out soon after and Robinson, now a Premier League regular, has no regrets about the decision he made.

“The first call-up I got was for the US for an Under-18 camp when I was 16 or 17,” Robinson explained. “That spurred me on to think that this was a massive opportunity and it gave me a massive confidence boost, so I decided that this was the team I wanted to commit to.

“It’s where my dad grew up. When he was young they moved to White Plains, New York, and then he went to college at Duke in North Carolina. My grandmother moved out there with him. She’s Jamaican but lived in America for the rest of her life.”

The practical decision

Finally, for some players, the decision came down to long-term opportunity rather than early certainty.

Malik Tillman admitted before the 2022 World Cup, which he ultimately did not play in, that he applied to FIFA for a one-time switch to represent the United States because he struggled to see a pathway into Germany’s setup.

The midfielder has an American father but was born in Germany and has spent most of his career in Germany and the Netherlands. Tillman played a couple of games for the U.S. U15 team before representing Germany from U15 through U21 level.

“I would say that I have a chance of playing in a World Cup this year. In Germany, I think I wouldn’t be with the team for [likely] the next two years,” Tillman told reporters before making his USMNT debut against Morocco in May 2022. “If I have a great career the next two years, maybe I can have a chance with the German national team but I don’t really see the chance with them. I see it here.”

Although net international migration in the United States has recently experienced a historic decline, data from 2024 showed the immigrant population stood at approximately 50.2 million people, the highest figure in U.S. history. That represents almost 15% of the country’s total population.

Those numbers inevitably suggest that more and more future soccer talents, many of whom have not even been born yet, will one day have to choose between playing for the United States and at least one other country.

But what criteria will they use to do so?

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