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‘s name is synonymous with the Belgian national team but the man could have been a part of an tournament had things played out differently.
De Bruyne was born in Dronen, Belgium and has made almost 100 appearances for his country.
He helped the Red Devils finish third at the 2018 World Cup and received the captain’s armband in 2023 following the retirement of .
However, there was another country he was eligible to play for in his younger years.
The 32-year-old’s mother Anna was born in Burundi in East Africa, meaning De Bruyne could have chosen to play for them.
qualified for the AFCON for the first time in their history in 2019 and are currently ranked 139th in the world.
They lost all three of their matches and failed to qualify for this year’s tournament.
De Bruyne spent all of this season on the sidelines due to injury but in Sunday’s 5-0 FA Cup third round win over Huddersfield,
He came off the bench and assisted a goal and is now in line to start Sunday’s big Premier League clash at Newcastle.
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