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Three of the four semi-finalists of the 2018 World Cup have more in common than the geographical proximity between their countries.
France, Belgium and England have a large number of players from immigrant parents. Let's see the figures:
Sixteen of the squadron of 23 players from France have at least one parent who was born out of the country. Two others were born on the French Caribbean islands, which are considered part of France
Eleven players from Belgium and six from England are children of at least one immigrant and four others from England have Afro-Caribbean ancestors further away. One of them, Raheem Sterling, was born in Jamaica.
Wilfred, father of Mbappe, emigrates from Cameroon to France. / Getty Images France being a multicultural team should not be a surprise.
The French team that won the World Cup in 1998, the only victory of the country so far in a World Cup, was celebrated as a symbol of the success of integration into society French, to the point that it was nicknamed "The Rainbow Team".
However, four years later, the same team was threatened boycott by part of players mestizos to protest the candidate's success Right-wing Jean-Marie Le Pen in the first round of the 2002 presidential election (though Le Pen was defeated with ease in the second round)
In the elections of the year last, the far right did it again, and Le Pen's daughter, Marine, got 33.9% of the votes, although she was defeated by Emmanuel Macron.
16 of the 23 players of the French team are immigrant children. / Getty "It is famous the lament of Marine Le Pen, who said that watching to the Blues (the nickname of the team), does not recognize a France [19659004] "says Afshin Molavi, of the School of Advanced International Studies at Washington Johns Hopkins University
However, this time there was no threat of boycott, and before the semifinals, France is the favorite of the demuchos hoist the trophy in Russia
The case of Belgium
The Belgian team has 11 players with at least one immigrant father, including players like Romelu Lukaku and Vincent Company, with parents of Congolese origin. Lukaku's father played for the national team of Zaire in the 1990s.
From the initial lineup of the Belgian team that played against the Brazil in the quarter-finals, five players have at least one immigrant father: (from left to right) Romelu Lukaku (DR Congo), Axel Witsel (Martinique), Vincent Kompany (RD Congo) and Marouane Fellaini (Morocco); (forward): Born Chadli (Morocco). / Getty Images This is a situation very different from that of the South Korea team of the 2002 Korea World Cup, when only two players from the team were disappointed. non-Belgian origin
The 2018 football campaign in Russia comes at once from the deep political, social and cultural division in Belgium, a country with two main regions and languages: Wallonia (French) and Flanders (Flemish)
Tension between the two groups led to separatist tendencies and in the 2010 Federal Election, the victory of the Neo-Flamenco Alliance (N-VA, in Flemish) caused a stalemate policy that left the country without government for 541 days.
Therefore, a team that has players from both regions and a Spanish coach, represents a demonstration of unity. In addition, thanks to the members of the team playing in England, the language of Shakespeare became the language common to all .
The euphoria of the Belgian team has crossed the cultural and racial divisions. / Getty Images "I'm not in World Cup to talk politics, this tournament is an opportunity to celebrate as a nation and support a team that represents the entire Belgian society," said Jan Aertssen, Belgian fan. BBC before the victory of the "Red Devils" against Brazil in Kazan.
"People who defend separatism have not discovered how much the team would be weaker," he joked
.
Immigrant children are well represented on the English side. The unexpected success of the team of technical director Gareth Southgate – which has six players from at least one father who immigrated to the UK, and Raheem Sterling, who was born in Jamaica – captivates his followers.
"We are a young and diverse team that represents modern England. In England, we lost a little time when it comes to Our modern identity. Of course, in principle, I will be judged on the results of football, but we have the opportunity to influence other things that are much bigger, "said Southgate
Prudence Piara Powar, founder of FARE Network, an organization that tackles racism issues in European football, warns that teams with diverse players do not always have a lasting effect on people. 19659038] 
Raheem Sterling (left) was born in Kingston, Jamaica. / Getty Images
"Diversity in three of the four semifinalist teams is a symbolic situation, but Previous experiences have shown that the positive factor lasts only a few months, even now we see a racial minority player in the English team, Raheem Sterling, being reported [19659004] in every game by bones written bones "Powar told the BBC.
"If England loses in the semi-finals, I'm not sure Sterling will not become a scapegoat, as was the case for Mezut Ozil (player of Turkish origin) when Germany was eliminated in Russia, "adds Piara. BBC News World notifications. Download the new version of our application and activate it to not miss our best content.
