Euro 2024: Is Jamal Musiala English and why does he play for Germany, if so?

Germany's midfielder #10 Jamal Musiala celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 Group A football match between Germany and Scotland at the Munich Football Arena in Munich on June 14, 2024.

An Englishman has helped to destroy Scotland in Euro 2024's opener in Munich. That is because Germany have a player who holds an English passport. 

Jamal Musiala, the 21-year-old Bayern Munich forward, even represented England at a number of youth levels before opting for the land of his birth in 2021. Musiala was born in Stuttgart to a German mother and a Nigerian-British father, before moving to the England at the age of seven, attending secondary school in Croydon. His dual citizenship means he holds passports for both Germany and the UK. 

Musiala played for Chelsea's youth teams between the age of eight and 15 but left the club in July 2019, aged 16, to move back to Germany in order to sign for Bayern. His family have since gone on record as saying Brexit had an impact in their decision to leave the UK.

Musiala is key for Germany, three years after spurning England (Image credit: Getty Images)

Musiala's decision to represent the Nationalmannschaft was a blow to the English FA, who had been attempting to persuade a player who made 16 appearances for the Three Lions' various youth teams to commit to Gareth Southgate's senior squad. 

Yet the allure of representing his birth nation - whom he also played for at youth level - coupled with manager Jogi Low's promise of more game time and inclusion at Euro 2020, seemed to tip the balance in Germany's favour.

Gareth Southgate has already admitted his annoyance at losing Musiala to the Germans. 

More Euro 2024 stories

We have a guide on how to get Euro 2024 tickets if you're still looking to go to the tournament. We have the run-down on Euro 2024 stadiums, with info on host cities, capacities, and everything you need to know.

We have a list of the Euro 2024 favourites, with best odds on nations to win European Championship in Germany, while these are the best Euros games ever and these are the best pundits ever. With England set to be one of the favourites, meanwhile, we've analysed what the pathway to the final could look like for the Three Lions. 

With plenty of favourites for the tournament in 2024, here's a look at the previous records of some of the bigger nations at the tournament.