Top national teams to feature Indian-origin footballers

SWANSEA, WALES - MARCH 04:  Swansea player Luciano Narsingh in action during the Premier League match between Swansea City and Burnley at Liberty Stadium on March 4, 2017 in Swansea, Wales.  (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Luciano Narsingh plays for Swansea City
MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 02:  Peter Crouch (L) of England competes for the ball with Oscar Sonejee of Andorra during the Euro 2008 Qualifying match between England and Andorra at Old Trafford on September 2, 2006 in  Manchester, England.    (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Oscar Sonejee (R) is Andorra's second most capped player

Andorra

Oscar Sonejee – 106 caps

Oscar Sonejee was born and brought up in Andorra. His parents had migrated to Spain from Delhi in search of better prospects. His father had first moved to Barcelona, but soon moved to Andorra and stayed on since then.

At 17, he had already played for Andorra in a 4-1 defeat against Estonia. His first international goal came against Latvia. At 18, he played against the heavyweights France in 1998 when the team was at its peak. It was probably the midfielder’s most cherished memories of marking the French maestro Zinedine Zidane.

He went on to score four goals for his country, of which the most important would be the one against Malta in 2000, earning his nation the first point in international football.

New Zealand

Rupesh Puna – 2 caps

Rupesh Puna has played for Caversham AFC, Otago United and currently plays for Waitakere United in the New Zealand Football Championship.

The right-back, who could also play as a left-back, made his full New Zealand debut against Iran in 2003. He ended his international career with only two international caps to his name.

Israel

Ofer Talker – 23 caps

Ofer Talker represented Israel in international football, but could also have been eligible to play for India. Talker was born in Ashdod, Israel. He won the Israeli Premier League and the Intertoto Cup while playing at Hapoel Haifa. He also played for Beitar Jerusalem for four years.

Talker made 23 appearances for the national side during his career, scoring just a solitary goal.

Curaçao

Prince Rajcomar – 9 caps

Another name who started off as a Netherlands footballer in the youth category but Prince Rajcomar later made his international debut for the island country of Curacao. Prince was part of the Netherlands squad for the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship.

In September 2014, Rajcomar was called up for the first time to the senior Curaçaoan national team, to take part in the Caribbean Cup qualification campaign. He scored his first goal against Puerto Rico.

Currently, the 32-year old striker plays for KFC Oosterzonen, a football club in the Belgian football amateur division.

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