The former opponent of Romania naturalized a player from Borussia Dortmund » Change the national team before the World Cup

The 22-year-old footballer has so far represented England at youth level, earning 23 caps for the youth teams, from U17 to U20. He was part of the squad that won the European Under-19 Championship in 2022 and was England's top scorer at that tournament with three goals.

Carney Chukwuemeka will play for Austria

The change of nationality was officially approved by FIFA and was possible because Chukwuemeka was born in Vienna before his family moved to Northampton as a child, notes ESPN.

The midfielder could make his debut for Austria at the end of the month, in friendly matches against Ghana and South Korea. Carney Chukwuemeka plays for Borussia Dortmund after his transfer last summer from Chelsea.

In the current season, the midfielder has made 30 appearances for the German team. In total, for the “yellow-black” he collected 47 matches, scoring 4 goals and 2 decisive assists. Before the transfer to Germany, Chukwuemeka also performed for Aston Villa and Chelsea, for the Londoners collecting 32 official games.

• 4 years ago, Chukwuemeka was on the list of the Catalans from Barcelona, ​​together with the central defender Jules Kounde, who, at the time, played in La Liga, at Sevilla.

Austria, Romania's opponent in the preliminaries

Romania and Austria recently met in the World Cup qualifiers. In June 2025, in Vienna, the Austrians prevailed 2-1, with goals scored by Michael Gregoritsch and Marcel Sabitzer, while Florin Tănase scored for Romania.

In the second leg played in Bucharest, in October 2025, the “tricolors” won 1-0, thanks to the goal scored by Virgil Ghiță.