A formidable squad with roots in... Kosovo.

Had it not been for legal obstacles, the Kosovo national team could very well have had two stars from Manchester United and Bayern Munich in their squad: Adnan Januzaj and Xherdan Shaqiri.

Shaquiri and Januzaj are players currently being courted by the Kosovo Football Federation.

Recently, Kosovo has been constantly mentioned in the press. Not because of political instability, but because of reports that the country's football federation is trying to persuade Manchester United's star midfielder Januzaj to play for the Kosovo national team in a friendly match against Haiti on March 5th.

Because Kosovo is not recognized by the United Nations in terms of territorial sovereignty, it is not considered an official member of FIFA. Therefore, even if players change their nationality to play for the national team, it will not be recognized. However, this presents an opportunity for many players to begin their international careers, including Manchester United's young star, Januzaj.

Januzaj, who has six options to become a national team player, intends to play his first international match for Kosovo. The Kosovo Football Federation says they are also working to convince Januzaj's family to allow him to represent the national team in the upcoming friendly match against Haiti.

The fact that the Manchester United star played for Kosovo does not affect his future choice of which country he will play for because, as explained above, since he is not considered an official member of FIFA, Januzaj will not be bound by any obligations. This was just a friendly match and has absolutely no impact on his future with the national team.

Assuming Kosovo were a full member of FIFA, they would possess some notable names.

Recently, the Belgian newspaper La Mesue published a photo of a team of 11 players with Kosovar ancestry. Notably, in addition to Januzaj, this lineup also includes another star, Xherdan Shaqiri, who currently plays for Bayern Munich.

According to Bongdaplus