One of Europe's best! Why this keeper doesn't play for a national team

One of Europe's best! Why this keeper doesn't play for a national team Mile Svilar is at the peak of his career so far, yet faces a situation unprecedented in elite European football. The 27-year-old AS Roma goalkeeper, named the best goalkeeper in Italy’s Serie A in each of the past two seasons, plays for no national team, despite originally having two options. Although he ranks among Europe’s outstanding goalkeepers, a fateful decision from his past has left the doors to international football closed to him. The roots of this unusual situation, given his undisputed ability between the posts, go back to 1999, when Svilar was born in the Belgian port city of Antwerp. His Serbian parents had moved to Belgium shortly before, and their son came through RSC Anderlecht’s youth system, showing his exceptional talent at an early age. He represented Belgium at every youth level from U15 to U21. When Benfica signed him in 2017 as an 18-year-old for €2.5 million, his path to Belgium’s senior national team seemed mapped out. The turning point came in September 2021, when the Serbian football association called up the then 22-year-old goalkeeper for international duty. On the advice of his father, Ratko Svilar, who had himself played in goal for Yugoslavia, Mile chose to represent his parents’ homeland. Alongside his family ties, his playing prospects also played a decisive role, as Thibaut Courtois, one of the world’s best goalkeepers, stood in his way in the Belgian goal for years to come. Svilar formally switched his international allegiance through FIFA and made his debut in a 4–0 friendly win over Qatar, playing 45 minutes. What seemed like an understandable career move at the time ultimately became a dead end. While Svilar established himself in club football after moving to Rome, his relationship with the Serbian football association cooled. 📸 ANDREAS SOLARO - AFP or licensors When he turned down a call-up from Serbia coach Dragan Stojković in March 2024, Serbian officials cut off contact for good and ruled out selecting him in the future. With the route back into the Serbian team blocked, the goalkeeper began trying to regain eligibility to play for his country of birth, Belgium. However, switching his allegiance back to Belgium is legally impossible under the current rules. As reported by 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' among others, the goalkeeper and his representatives are working intensively behind the scenes to find a solution with world football’s governing body. FIFA’s regulations strictly stipulate that a player who has already formally switched associations and played a senior international after turning 21 may not return to his original association. Svilar played his first and last international for Serbia five days after his 21st birthday. With FIFA standing by its statutes despite every appeal and refusing to grant an exception, the AS Roma star remains trapped in an international no-man’s-land—one of Europe’s best goalkeepers, yet unable to play for a national team. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.