FIFA rules prevent him from playing in this year’s World Cup finals.
A Belgian prodigy changed national team affiliation just days before his now former national team was due to announce its World Cup squad – and he will therefore not be able to play in this year’s championship.
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Belgium unveiled their final 26-man squad on Friday afternoon, with Juventus striker Lois Openda and injury-prone Chelsea midfielder Roméo Lavia being among the most high-profile names who did not get a place.
Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku have all been selected and will try to lead Belgium to the final stages of the tournament.
As in previous World Cups, the Beliga’s squad consists almost entirely of players who are currently playing abroad. Hans Vanaken, Joaquín Seys and Brandon Mechele – all from Club Brugge – are the only domestic names included.
Another international player who could have been selected was 18-year-old midfielder Jorthy Mokio, who plays his club life at Ajax. He made his debut for Belgium’s national team in 2025, but has not received any more caps since. Instead, he has played regularly for the U21 national team as he continues his development.
Mokio signed a new five-year contract with Ajax earlier this year, despite interest from other European clubs – and he negotiated the deal himself.
He has since switched national team affiliations to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), as the midfielder has Congolese roots.
Why the Belgian prodigy can’t play in the World Cup
DR Congo have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but Mokio is not eligible to represent them for another two years.
The reason is that according to FIFA’s rules, no player who has played a national team match for one country can represent another country until three years have passed.
The full relevant eligibility rule states that a player must have “played for the country they are leaving at national team level, been dual registered with the nation they are leaving for when they made their debut for the nation they are leaving, not have played for the country they are leaving before the age of 21, not have played more than three games for the country they are leaving at national team level, It’s been three years since the last international match, and they haven’t played for their first country in a championship.”
Put more simply: If Mokio had decided to play for Belgium in the World Cup, he would never have been prevented from switching to DR Congo at all.
The rule means that he will instead be eligible to play for DR Congo from March 2028. It also means that he will miss the Africa Cup of Nations next summer, which will be hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda together.
Why he changed national team
Explaining the reasoning behind the decision to change national teams, Mokio told Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf:
“In the end, I chose to follow my heart and make myself available to Congo. I hope to be able to represent them soon.
“As I said, it’s first and foremost about feelings. They have shown interest before, but at that time I was still too young to make a final choice.
“Over time, my feelings for the country where my roots lie have become stronger. I feel that now is the right time to listen to it and give it a direction.
DR Congo managed to qualify for the World Cup by beating Jamaica 1-0 in March in the intercontinental playoffs.
They have a number of players who will be very familiar to the English public, including Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa, Burnley’s Axel Tuanzebe, Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki and West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The team’s captain is former Newcastle stopper Chancel Mbemba, who is now one of the top defenders in French football with Lille. Former West Ham and West Brom striker Grady Diangana – now at Elche – will also be hoping to be selected after he switched national teams from England in 2023.
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