Guinea-Bissau would’ve been a formidable team if these talents represented their country of origin

Some notable players had a really solid week this past week. Goalkeeper Édouard Mendy of Chelsea recorded two consecutive clean sheets (in the Champions League and in the Premier League against Manchester United). Dayot Upamecano of RB Leipzig played 66 minutes in the Champions League and contributed to the clean sheet, and scored a goal in their win against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga. Ansu Fati scored his second career goal in the Champions League and scored in his first El Clasico.

What do these players have in common? They were all eligible to represent Guinea-Bissau.

Edouard Mendy ruled out of rest of AFCON - 2019 Africa Cup of Nations - Senegal - Edouard Mendy — Mendy representing Senegal (Source: African Football)

Mendy currently plays for Senegal. Upamecano plays for France. And Ansu Fati represents Spain. If these players played for Guinea-Bissau, one could imagine how strong this team could have been.

Guinea-Bissau currently isn’t considered an African soccer powerhouse. Ever since gaining independence from Portugal in 1973, they have never qualified for the World Cup. They’ve only appeared in two AFCON competitions. Moreover, I can’t even name one player that played for them the last three years (can you?).

What I’ve come to realize is that there are several prominent players (in addition to the others mentioned earlier) that were eligible to represent Djurtus (the nickname of the Guinea-Bissau football team) but decided to don the jersey of a different nation. Here’s a starting eleven with the players that could’ve declared to represent Guinea-Bissau, mixed in with current Bissau-Guinean players that featured prominently in the 2019 AFCON:

This formation (4-1-3-2) was used a lot by Guinea Bissau in the 2019 AFCON. *The players with a yellow card icon above their name are the players that were eligible to play* for Guinea-Bissau but do not currently play for the team.

Édouard Mendy (gk, senegal)

The 6’6″ France-born Chelsea FC goalkeeper was eligible to play for Guinea-Bissau by way of his late father. As a matter of fact, to honor his ailing father, he played friendly games for the Bissau-Guinean team in 2016. He ultimately decided to play for Senegal, the birthplace of his mother, and has appeared for them eight times.

Dayot upamecano (cb, rb leipzig)

The 21 year-old France-born RB Leipzig defender was eligible to play for Guinea-Bissau due to his parents’ origin. He made his senior debut for France just last month in the UEFA Nations League, so he is no longer eligible to represent Guinea-Bissau.

danilo pereira (cdm, psg [loan from porto])

The 29 year-old PSG holding midfielder was eligible to play for Guinea-Bissau as it is his birthplace. He ultimately decided to play for Portugal.

Why does Ansu Fati play for Spain? Eligibility rules explained | Goal.com — Ansu Fati representing Spain. He just made his debut two months ago in August. (Source: Goal)

ansu fati (LAM, FC Barcelona)

The 17 year-old Barcelona winger was eligible to play for Guinea-Bissau as it is also his birthplace. He renounced his Bissau-Guinean citizenship to represent Spain, the nation his family moved to when he was six years old.

bruma (ram, olympiacos [loan from psv])

The 27 year-old Guinea-Bissau-born Olympiacos winger was eligible to play for Guinea-Bissau. He now represents the senior Portugal team, appearing nine times.

eder (cf, lokomotiv)

The 32 year-old center-forward was born in Guinea-Bissau, therefore eligible to represent his birthplace. He now plays for Portugal, representing them in the 2014 World Cup and scoring the winning goal in the UEFA Euro 2016 Final. This slow-mo video of Eder scoring that goal is my favorite, it’s worth the watch.

How do you think this team would have fared? Do you think they could have made a World Cup? Comment below!

Eddie Mungai