Varane, Sterling, van Dijk & Co.: Stars that could have featured at the Gold Cup

Dual citizens 

Raphaël Varane (Real Madrid), Raheem Sterling (Man City), and Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) have a combined market value of €215 million—together, they are worth half as much as the combined squad value of the 16 teams that are participating at the Gold Cup this summer. Varane has played 79 games for France, Sterling 68 games for England, and van Dijk has managed 38 games for the Netherlands. The three, however, were also eligible to play for other countries and could have, in theory, participated at Concacaf’s top continental competition. A glance in the Transfermarkt database shows that Varane could have played for Martinique, Sterling for Jamaica, and van Dijk for Suriname. They are not the only prominent stars that could have played at the tournament either. 

Guadeloupe were eliminated after two defeats in Group C. The squad value of the tiny island nation is just €3 million, the second-lowest just ahead of Grenada (€1.6m). In comparison. Mexico‘s squad value is €168.6 million, 55-times the value of Guadeloupe, and that is with several stars playing the Olympics rather than the Gold Cup. But Guadeloupe’s team could look very different if some players had decided to play for the French overseas department, who are actually not a FIFA member, rather than for France’s actual national team. Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Anthony Martial (Man United), and Marcus Thuram (Gladbach) could have opted to play for Guadeloupe. Other players that would have been eligible for Guadeloupe include Alexandre Lacazette (Arsenal) and Thomas Lemar (Atlético). Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix is not capped by France’s senior team and could still play for Guadeloupe at the tournament (although Guadeloupe is not a FIFA member, the Gold Cup uses FIFA eligibility rules). 

Gold Cup: Jamaica want to convince Man Utd star Greenwood

Jamaica, in the meantime, are working on convincing Mason Greenwood to play for them. One of the most valuable talents, the 19-year-old Manchester United star is eligible to play for the Reggae Boyz. With a market value of €50 million, Greenwood would become the most valuable player in Jamaica’s squad ahead of Bayer Leverkusen star Leon Bailey. 

Greenwood was nominated for England’s provisional Euro squad but missed the tournament with an injury. Still uncapped by the senior team, the 19-year-old can still make the switch to another country. While Jamaica could still convince Greenwood, Raheem Sterling and Kalvin Phillips (Leeds United) have played for the Three Lions and are now cap-tied. But Nathan Redmond (Southampton) and Demarai Gray (Leverkusen) have been nominated by Gareth Southgate but only for friendlies. Three Everton players who have thus far played for England’s U21 could also play for Jamaica: Ben Godfrey, Max Aarons, and Mason Holgate. 

Like Guadeloupe: Many potential stars for the overseas department Martinique 

Martinique, like Guadeloupe, a French overseas department, has lost all three group stage games and have a goal differential of -9. Defensive players like Raphaël Varane and Axel Witsel (BVB) have their roots in Martinique and could have helped the team. Forwards like Jeff Reine-Adélaïde (Lyon), Ludovic Blas (Nantes), or Georgino Rutter (Hoffenheim) are not yet cap-tied, even though they have all played for various French junior national teams. Former French national team players Loïc Rémy (Rizespor) and Jimmy Briand (Bordeaux) also have their roots in Martinique—just like 1.FC Köln’s Anthony Modeste. 

Also eliminated from the tournament are Haiti. The Caribbean nation could have nominated Jean-Kévin Augustin (Nantes) or Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (Strasbourg); both have their roots in Haiti. Fafà Picault (Houston) has featured for Haiti in a friendly but later played for the United States instead (two games). Jozy Altidore (Toronto) also has his roots in Haiti; he is the USMNT’s third most successful striker with 42 goals in 115 games. 

The legacy of Seedorf & Co.: Becker plays for Suriname 

Another prominent example is Suriname, who are currently ranked 136th in the FIFA Men’s Ranking have the fifth-highest squad value (€19.8m) at the Gold Cup. Several players born in the Netherlands and active in Europe have created the backbone of the current national team. One of those players is Union Berlin star, Sheraldo Becker. The head coach is Dean Gorré—not surprising—he is also from the Netherlands. 

The list of players that could have played for Suriname is long and is topped by Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk. Next on the list are Ryan Gravenberch (Ajax), Donyell Malen (PSV) and Georginio Wijnaldum (PSG). Other players with Suriname’s roots who have been nominated to the Dutch national team are Calvin Stengs, Justin Kluivert (both Nice), and Jean-Paul Boëtius (Mainz). Javairô Dilrosun, Deyovaisio Zeefuik, Daishawn Redan (all Hertha), and Melayro Bogarde (Hoffenheim) are also players with Surinamese roots. Former stars of the Elftal like Clarence Seedorf, Edgar Davids, Patrick Kluivert, and Frank Rijkaard could have played for Suriname. 

Canada and the United States also lost top players 

Gold Cup top teams also lost prominent players to Europe. Fikayo Tomori (Milan) and goalkeeper Bono (Sevilla) hail from Canada but have played for national teams of other countries. Bryan Cristante (Roma) also has his roots in North America but won the European Championship with Italy. Another player born in Canada is Egyptian Omar Marmoush (Wolfsburg). The most prominent example is, however, Owen Hargreaves. The former Bayern Munich and Manchester United star opted for to play for England rather than his native Canada. 

Canada’s second most valuable player, Jonathan David (Lille)—he is missing the Gold Cup with fitness issues—could have played for Haiti and the United States. David was born in New York, and his parents are from Haiti. Ayo Akinola was also born in the United States and played for the country’s youth teams before opting to switch to Canada ahead of the Gold Cup—he was also eligible for Nigeria. The duo Thomas Delaney (BVB) and Efraín Álvarez (LA Galaxy) are also born in the USA but have since opted to play for other national teams. Jeremy Toljan (Sassuolo) was born in Stuttgart but has his roots in North America. Toljan has played for Germany’s youth teams but is still eligible to play for the United States. 

Text by Pascal Martin. Translator and contributor Manuel Veth

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