{"id":179020,"date":"2014-04-24T13:45:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ghana-mma.com\/januzaj-to-play-for-belgium\/"},"modified":"2014-04-24T13:45:00","modified_gmt":"2014-04-24T13:45:00","slug":"januzaj-to-play-for-belgium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2014\/04\/24\/januzaj-to-play-for-belgium\/","title":{"rendered":"Januzaj To Play For Belgium"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"Adnan<\/p>\n
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Adnan Januzaj<\/div>\n

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Adnan Januzaj
Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj has decided to represent Belgium in international football.<\/p>\n

The Red Devils’ national coach Marc Wilmots made the announcement on Twitter and said he was \u201cdelighted\u201d by the player’s decision.<\/p>\n

Januzaj was born in the Belgian capital of Brussels to Kosovan-Albanian parents and joined United in 2011.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old could have played for Kosovo, Albania, Turkey, Serbia and, potentially in the future, England.<\/p>\n

Januzaj will now be considered for Belgium’s World Cup squad, with a 30-man provisional squad due to be named on 13 May.<\/p>\n

He has yet to play international football at any level, but was invited to play for Kosovo in a friendly in March.<\/p>\n

Signed by United from Anderlecht for a reported fee of\u00a0 \u00a3297,000, http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/sport1\/hi\/football\/teams\/m\/man_utd\/9411803.stm Januzaj could have played for England from 2018 assuming he remained in the country.<\/p>\n

Fifa rules state a player is eligible if \u201che has lived continuously for at least five years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of the relevant association\u201d.<\/p>\n

He qualified for Albania through his parents and Turkey through his grandparents. He could also have represented Serbia after Kosovo declared independence from the country in 2008.<\/p>\n

Januzaj made his league debut for United as a substitute in a 2-0 win at home to Crystal Palace in September, and scored both goals for the defending Premier League champions in his first start, a 2-1 victory at Sunderland on 5 October 2013.<\/p>\n

Following Januzaj’s goalscoring full debut, Wilmots said he wanted him to play for Belgium, while England manager Roy Hodgson admitted he had been keeping an eye on a player whom he described as a \u201creal talent\u201d.<\/p>\n

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