Bundesliga players set to represent their countries at AFC Asain Cup & AFCON 2023

As the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 return from the traditional winter break over the next two weekends, a number of players will instead be readying themselves for international competition.

On Friday 12 January, the AFC Asian Cup begins in Qatar, with 11 players from Germany’s top two leagues selected. Among them, FC Bayern München defender and AFC Asian International Player of the Year Min-jae Kim, and VfB Stuttgart midfielder and AFC U23 Championship winner Woo-yeong Jeong (both South Korea), while four Bundesliga players were selected for the Japan squad – the highest representation of all European leagues.

In the Ivory Coast, the African Cup of Nations kicks off on Saturday 13 January, with 18 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 players from 11 countries initially called up, including Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s Odilon Kossounou and Borussia Dortmund’s Sebastién Haller for the host nation. Nigeria striker and Bundesliga’s five-time Rookie of the Month Victor Boniface unfortunately had to withdraw from the tournament due to injury.

Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 players selected for the Asian Cup:

Australia

• Jackson Irvine (FC St. Pauli)
• Connor Metcalfe (FC St. Pauli)
• John Iredale (SV Wehen Wiesbaden)

Japan

• Ko Itakura (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
• Ritsu Dōan (Sport-Club Freiburg)
• Takuma Asano (VfL Bochum)
• Hiroki Ito (VfB Stuttgart)

Iraq

• Youssef Amyn (Eintracht Braunschweig)

South Korea

• Min-jae Kim (FC Bayern München)
• Jaesung Lee (1. FSV Mainz 05)
• Wooyeong Jeong (VfB Stuttgart)

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Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 players selected for the Africa Cup of Nations:

Ivory Coast

• Odilon Kossounou (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)
• Sebastién Haller (Borussia Dortmund)

Egypt

• Omar Marmoush (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Ghana

• Ransford-Yeboah Königsdörffer (Hamburger SV)

Guinea

• Naby Keïta (SV Werder Bremen)
• Serhou Guirassy (VfB Stuttgart)

Algeria

• Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund)
• Farès Chaïbi (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Burkina Faso

• Edmond Tapsoba (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)

Tunisia

• Oussama Haddadi (SpVgg Greuther Fürth)
• Aïssa Laïdouni (1. FC Union Berlin)
• Ellyes Skhiri (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Mali

• Amadou Haidara (RB Leipzig)
• Diadie Samassékou (TSG Hoffenheim)

Morocco

• Noussair Mazraoui (FC Bayern München)
• Amine Adli (Bayer 04 Leverkusen)

DR Congo

• Silas Mvumpa (VfB Stuttgart)

The Bundesliga is one of the world’s most popular leagues, thanks in no small part due to the global stars that have made their name in Germany over the last 60 years. From trailblazers such as Jiayi Shao (China) and Bum-kun Cha (South Korea), to the world icons of today including Heung-min Son (South Korea) and Wataru Endo (Japan), the Bundesliga has welcomed more Asian players than any other top European league.

Similarly in Africa, the Bundesliga was the home of Anthony Baffoe (Ghana) and Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria), and the legacy lives on with the likes of Boniface (Nigeria), Serhou Guirassy (Guinea) and Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) lighting up the league this season.

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