Few would have predicted Morocco’s success at the 2022 World Cup. Heading into Qatar, they were ranked 22nd in the world and had never progressed beyond the round of 16. Yet they beat Belgium, Spain, and Portugal on their way to becoming the first African nation ever to reach the semi-final. Morocco's run was not only remarkable (and thoroughly deserved) but it also sparked debate beyond football – including in a previous COMPAS blog by Myriam Cherti – because 14 players in their 26-man squad were foreign-born, more than any other nation in the tournament.
This year's expanded World Cup will feature more foreign-born players than any previous edition. Nearly one in four of the 1,248 players selected for national teams were born in a different country from the one they will represent (Figure 1). In some squads, the proportions are far higher – 96% of Curaçao's players were born abroad, as were 85% of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s and 73% of Morocco’s. Overall, foreign-born players make up the majority of footballers in eight of the tournament's 48 squads.
However, migration has been part of the World Cup story since its inception. In 1938, for example, 12% of players represented a country other than the one in which they were born, in part because FIFA didn’t introduce regulations governing football players’ eligibility for national teams until 1962. This meant it was not uncommon for players to represent multiple countries throughout their careers.
Figure 1
Some players represent countries other than those in which they were born because they are eligible through a parent or grandparent. These players often emerge from diaspora communities created by earlier waves of migration. One example is 2018 World Cup finalist Ivan Rakitić, who was born and raised in Switzerland but chose to represent Croatia, explaining that when he had to choose between the two countries, his heart told him he should play for Croatia. Other players qualify through residency requirements, such as Pepe, who was born in Brazil but played in four World Cups for Portugal after becoming a Portuguese citizen at the age of 24.
Yet foreign-born players are only part of the story – World Cup squads also contain many second-generation migrants. France's 2018 World Cup-winning squad is perhaps the best-known example: 12 of the 23-man squad had African parents. Of course, such patterns are not random. France's squad reflected the country's colonial and post-colonial links with North and West Africa. Similarly, since the mid-2000s, Switzerland's national team has increasingly been shaped by migration from the former Yugoslavia following the conflicts and displacement that accompanied its breakup in the 1990s.
But does this matter on the pitch? Relatively little research has examined this question, but the available evidence suggests it does.
One study analysing every World Cup between 1970 and 2018 found that teams with more foreign-born players generally progressed further in the tournament. On average, each additional foreign-born player was associated with roughly 0.15 additional matches played. The relationship remained even after accounting for broader differences between countries, suggesting that migration may provide advantages beyond those associated with wealth or footballing tradition alone.
Another examined European national teams competing in World Cups and European Championships between 1970 and 2018. Using players' surnames to estimate their ancestral origins, it measured the diversity of backgrounds within each squad and found that more diverse teams tended to perform better on average. Specifically, teams with substantially more diverse backgrounds (measured by an increase of one standard deviation) recorded goal differences around 1.35 goals per match higher than less diverse teams.
There are at least two factors which might explain these results. First, migration can expand the pool of players available to a national team. Ghana’s 2026 squad draws heavily on diaspora communities in Western Europe, allowing it to recruit players developed in some of the world’s strongest football systems.
Second, migration may increase the diversity of skills available within a squad. Football players need specific physical traits and technical skills to succeed on the pitch. Central defenders, for example, are usually tall and physically strong, while more attacking players often require speed. A more diverse population will likely provide a larger pool of potential players for each position, resulting in better complementarity at the team level.
Of course, this does not mean that migration wins World Cups. Argentina won the 2022 World Cup without any foreign-born players in their squad. Victory also depends on population size, economic wealth, and coaching. Lionel Messi playing for your team helps, too.
Nonetheless, the limited evidence available indicates that migration may influence international football beyond simply changing the make-up of the teams competing.
If Morocco’s 2022 squad had been limited to players born and raised in Morocco, would they still have reached the semi-finals? We’ll never know for sure. But if Curaçao do so this time around, the role of migration in footballing success may become harder to ignore.
