Why France-born defender Aymeric Laporte represents Spain instead of France

Aymeric Laporte was born in France and represented the country at youth level, but the defender now plays for Spain after switching his international allegiance.

The 31-year-old faces his birth nation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final after making the move to Spain's senior national team in 2021.

Laporte was born in Agen, in south-west France, and played 51 matches for France's youth teams. However, despite being called up to the senior squad for World Cup qualifiers, he never made a competitive appearance.

After missing out on France's squad for the 2016 European Championship, Laporte began exploring the possibility of representing Spain, where he had built his club career with Athletic Club.

His Basque heritage allowed him to join Athletic Club, and he later obtained Spanish citizenship, making him eligible to represent Spain under FIFA rules.

Although France selected him for two 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, he did not feature.

Injury also ruled him out of two further qualifiers in 2020, and he eventually chose to commit his international future to Spain.

Since making the switch, Laporte has become a regular in Spain's defence and has now made more senior appearances for Spain than he did youth appearances for France, establishing himself as a key player on the international stage.