World Cup 2026: Muslim footballers challenge Europe's identity debate
Submitted by Bassil Mikdadi on Mon, 07/13/2026 - 08:35
From Lamine Yamal to Yasin Ayari and Cape Verde's converts, a new generation of footballers is challenging the notion that Islam is somehow foreign to Europe
Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates by performing the sujood (prostration) after scoring his first goal at the 2026 World Cup on 21 June 2026 (Claudia Greco/Reuters) Off For decades, Islam has been a political lightning rod in Europe.
But on football's biggest stage, a new generation of footballers are demonstrating that the faith is very much a part of the continent's fabric.
There are an estimated two billion Muslims worldwide, making up roughly a quarter of the global population.
So at a World Cup featuring 13 Muslim-majority nations, public expressions of Islamic faith should come as little surprise.
Despite this, some of the most talked-about displays of the Islamic faith have come from players representing majority-Christian countries.
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Lamine Yamal, the teenage prodigy leading Spain and FC Barcelona's attack, made headlines when he performed the sujood (prostration) after scoring his first-ever World Cup goal against Saudi Arabia.
Yamal's faith had already been thrust into the spotlight in March during a friendly between Spain and Egypt in his hometown of Barcelona, when sections of the crowd chanted, "Musulman el que no bote" ("Who doesn't jump is Muslim").
Yamal responded on social media, saying:
"I am Muslim alhamdulilah... Football for entertaining and uplifting [people], not to show a lack of respect towards people because of what they believe"
The chants did not happen in a vacuum. Across Europe, the far right - and increasingly several mainstream political parties - have sought to create a false dichotomy: Christian Europe versus the supposedly foreign forces of Islam.
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This is despite Christianity itself originating on the same non-European peninsula where Islam emerged some six centuries after Christ's crucifixion.
Not one of our own
Yamal is far from the only European footballer to have experienced being othered by his own supporters.
In 2024, Germany centre-back Antonio Rudiger marked the start of Ramadan with an Instagram post in which he raised his index finger in a gesture of tawhid (a gesture which symbolises monotheism).
What should have been an innocuous expression of faith instead prompted Bild Zeitung's editor-in-chief, Julian Reichelt, to claim it was a symbol supporting the so called Islamic State group (IS).
Rudiger subsequently filed a lawsuit against Reichelt, accusing him of defamation and incitement to hatred, although the proceedings were later dropped by the public prosecutor.
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Just days before Yamal's goal against Saudi Arabia, another European player celebrated with a sujood.
When Yasin Ayari opened the scoring for Sweden against Tunisia, many focused on his Tunisian roots and the fact that the Tunisian Football Federation had previously tried to convince him to switch allegiances.
Out of respect for his father's homeland, Ayari raised his hands as if asking for forgiveness. Yet the success of both the player and the Swedish team reignited a familiar debate, with many - including Swedish Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson - refusing to acknowledge Ayari as Swedish.
Social media was filled with criticism of both his act of faith and his muted celebration.
In reality, Ayari's success illustrated that Islam is part of Europe and that the overwhelming majority of immigrants do integrate.
It was, in fact, his Tunisian father, Azouz, who persuaded him to reject Tunisia, telling Aftonbladet: "My children are a part of Sweden. My children were born in Sweden. My children's friends are in Sweden. I'm an immigrant. Yasin is Swedish with a Tunisian background. So he has the right to play for Sweden.
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"I really want him to play for Sweden," he said. He should feel that he can give something back to the nation that really took care of him. That opened the school, opportunities, he ate his meatballs with mashed potatoes. Why should I interfere with that? I'm so happy for him," he added.
Europe's changing Muslim landscape
While Ayari, Yamal and Rudiger inherited their faith from their immigrant families, a growing number of European footballers have embraced Islam through conversion.
Among the most prominent are Netherlands midfielder and four-time UEFA Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf, French-born Malian striker Frédéric Kanouté and France midfielder Paul Pogba, who won the 2018 World Cup.
Another convert, Djed Spence, has been England's left-back at this World Cup and became the first Muslim player to represent the country when he made his debut in World Cup qualifying against Serbia last year.
"I was surprised because I didn't know I was the first, so it's a blessing," he said after the 5-0 win.
"It's good to make history and hopefully inspire young kids around the world that they can make it as well. They can do what I am doing."
Europe has also provided a pathway to Islam for three members of Cape Verde's World Cup squad.
The small archipelago nation, which became one of the tournament's surprise stories after courageous performances against Spain, Uruguay and Argentina, is overwhelmingly Roman Catholic. Yet the team that made history drew heavily on its diaspora, with nearly half the squad born outside Cape Verde.
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Jamiro Monteiro, 32, first represented Cape Verde in 2016 before embracing Islam five years later in his native Rotterdam.
French-born teammates Logan Costa and Steven Moreira followed similar paths, converting during their professional careers.
"I was interested in religion from a young age and read about Islam, then later I was living with a fellow player that was Muslim and he encouraged me to start praying with him. That's when I started to feel something inside me," Logan Costa said while recounting his spiritual journey. The 25-year-old defender formally converted to Islam in 2020.
Moreira, 31, who was voted MLS Defender of the Year in 2024, described a similar experience.
"I was in an academy in Rennes and I used to room with one of my friends. We did something wrong and they separated us and they put me with an older player."
That older player - former Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure - was a practising Muslim. Watching him pray five times a day and fast during Ramadan sparked Moreira's curiosity. Before long, he was asking questions and eventually practising Islam himself.
"I could feel something was moving for me but you're a bit scared because you weren't [raised] with that. You don't know how your family will react ... but when I told them, they said: ‘You're a better person now.’ Alhamdulillah."
The trio celebrated Jamiro Monteiro's opening goal at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations by performing the sujood together. Their bond also reflects a wider sense of unity within the national team.
"Whether we are Muslim or Christian our strength is that we are together we are all Cape Verdian," Logan Costa said in an interview before the team's remarkable run at this year's tournament, where they advanced from the group stage and came close to upsetting Argentina.
The trio have been respected and accommodated by their national team and teammates, with halal food provided throughout training camps and tournaments. Ironically, their different faith is viewed within the squad as simply another consequence of having been born and raised in Europe.
World Cup 2026 Muslim footballers are challenging Europe's identity debate at the World Cup News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19
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