Two flags, one heart: Khedira sees no problem with brothers split at World Cup

NEW YORK, June 23 : Sami Khedira knows what it means to carry more than one flag in his heart, which is why Germany's 2014 World Cup winner sees no identity crisis in brothers wearing different shirts at the 2026 tournament.

To him, it is not a football problem but a portrait of the modern game - diverse and wonderfully human.

For Khedira, whose brother Rani is at the World Cup with Tunisia, their father's country, brothers playing for different countries is a reflection of families, migration and belonging in a world where identity rarely fits inside one passport.

"I don't see it as an issue," Khedira told La Gazzetta dello Sport at the Home of Football museum in New York on Monday.

"I see it as a modern, global world where we all come together. And for me, in my world view, it's wonderful."

Born and raised in Germany to a German mother and their Tunisian father, Khedira said he and Rani carry two cultures naturally rather than competitively.

He added that people sometimes questioned his Germanness because of his name and appearance, while in Tunisia he could be seen as German. His answer was simple: both can be true.

"We have both nations in our heart," he said. "Both mentalities as well. And this one makes us special."

This World Cup features eight sets of brothers, four playing together and four representing different countries.

Inaki and Nico Williams are Athletic Bilbao teammates but have taken separate international paths with Ghana and Spain respectively, while Guela and Desire Doue are split between the Ivory Coast and France.

There are also the cases of Derrick Luckassen and Brian Brobbey, brothers through their mother but playing under their fathers' surnames for Ghana and Netherlands respectively, and Harry and John