Jonathan Tah looks back on decision to turn down Ivory Coast call-up

Over the years, Jonathan Tah has made 41 appearances for Germany’s youth teams and 46 for the senior national side.

However, born to an Ivorian father and a German mother, the Bayern Munich centre-back could have opted to represent Ivory Coast instead.

“The Ivorian federation asked me when I was 17 whether I wanted to play for them. But I grew up in Germany and went through the youth national teams here. It was never an option for me to play for Ivory Coast. But the connection is there – and it is something special for me,” Tah said in an interview published on the German Football Association’s website.

“That connection is important to me. Ivory Coast is very present in my life and my everyday life. These roots are part of me and they give me something. When I look at where my father comes from and what he went through coming to Germany – he told me everything – it really helped me put things into perspective. When I experience a difficult phase in football, it feels like nothing compared to his. It is important not to lose that perspective beyond football.”

At the World Cup, Tah will have the chance to face his father’s home country, with Germany drawn in Group E alongside Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Curaçao.

“Somehow it feels like a circle is closing for me – as if it is meant to be. I try not to overthink it and rather enjoy that it is happening. We were actually supposed to play a friendly against Ivory Coast before the World Cup. I was already looking forward to that and thinking: wow, crazy. And now we’re playing them at the World Cup. That is even more incredible,” Tah said.