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Xherdan Shaqiri Threatens To Switch International Allegiance

Xherdan Shaqiri Threatens To Switch International Allegiance

The Swiss midfielder is unhappy in his current national team

Joe Baiamonte

Joe Baiamonte

The decision of Switzerland manager Vladimir Petkovic to award the captain's armband to Stephan Lichsteiner has reportedly caused a huge problem with Xherdan Shaqiri, who is apparently so outraged about the decision, he's considering switching his international allegiance to Kosovo.

After captain Gokhan Inler was dropped, the Swiss national team manager decided that Juventus full-back was the best option to replace the Leicester City man as skipper. On top of this, Granit Xhaka and Valon Behrami (who are both also eligible to play for Kosovo) were named as vice-captains. However, this has not sat well with the Stoke City man, who is contemplating his future with Switzerland.

Switzerland
Switzerland

Shaqiri qualifies to play for Kosovo, having been born there in 1991. Usually, having represented a nation at full international level in a competitive game means a player would be prohibited from playing for another country, however, as Kosovo are the newest nation recognised by FIFA, any players eligible may declare to play for them even if they have already been capped by another nation.


Shaqiri
Shaqiri

In a press conference, Shaqiri said "What if the coach of Kosovo wants me as the captain? Of course, I am thinking about it then."

Belgium's Adnan Januzaj has also declared his intention to play for Kosovo.

(H/T Dream Team FC)

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Topics: Euro 2016, Football, Xherdan Shaqiri, Switzerland