Neil Johnson
BBC Sport
It is the most difficult test for any parent.
Two sons play on opposing teams in a game. Who are you rooting for?
But this isn’t playing football in the local park or a school game.
This is a World Cup match.
There are four pairs of brothers playing for different nations on the biggest stage, and they include Desiree and Guella Due who could face each other this summer.
Their mother is French, and their father is from the Ivory Coast in the French city of Angers, the brothers play for Paris Saint-Germain and Strasbourg.
They have gone their separate ways in international football, with two-time Champions League winner Desiree (21) playing for France and defender Gela (23) for Ivory Coast.
“We tell each other everything and we have no secrets,” Desiree told French soccer program Telefoot about his relationship with his older brother.
“He is a huge support to me in my everyday life.”
But could their close relationship be tested in the United States?
Should France finish as runners-up in Group I and Ivory Coast as runners-up in Group E, the two teams will meet in the round of 16 in Arlington, Texas on June 30.
When Ivory Coast beat France 2-1 in a pre-World Cup friendly on June 4, Gela sang the national anthems of both countries before the game.
Desiree, who won the Champions League with PSG five days earlier, was on the bench but did not play.
“It’s a shame I didn’t play against my brother, because it was our first match between France and Ivory Coast, but I’m happy and he’s not too disappointed,” Gela said after the match.
There has only been one previous instance of brothers targeting each other at the World Cup, and that happened in two consecutive tournaments.
Jerome Boateng of Germany faced his older half-brother Kevin Prince of Ghana in Johannesburg in 2010.
Germany won 1:0.
Four years later, the two were on opposite sides again in Brazil when the group stage match ended 2-2.
Desiree and Gela could be next.
So who are the other brothers playing in the World Cup?
Brothers who play for different countries
The Williams brothers, Ignacy and Nico, are both of Basque origin and play together for Spain’s Athletic Bilbao.
But it’s a different story when it comes to international football.
While Nico, 23, was man of the match when Spain beat England in the European Championship final two years ago, older brother Ignacy, 32, plays for Ghana.
Australia have selected stopper Harry Southart, 27, born in Aberdeen, whose brother John, 29, is also at the World Cup with Scotland.
Their mother, Heather, is Australian and Harry played for Scotland in the youth seasons before ‘switching allegiance’ in 2019.
John made his debut for Dundee United at the age of 16 and for Scotland at 21 one.
Harry captained Australia in their opening 2-0 win over Turkey in the group stage.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s Dutch-born defender Derrick Lucassen, 30, has joined half-brother Brian Brobbie, 24, at the tournament.
They have the same mother but different fathers.
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‘We saw our parents cry’
In addition to the four sets of siblings playing for different countries, there are three more sets of siblings representing their nations in this tournament.
Laros Duarte (29) started Cape Verde’s game against Spain on June 17, and was replaced by his younger brother Deroy (26) in the 61st minute in Atlanta.
The Rotterdam-born brothers helped the Blue Sharks secure a very impressive point as the debutants held off the 2010 world champions to a clean sheet.
“We saw our parents cry,” Laros said after the game.
“The feeling is hard to describe, it’s something you just dream about.”
Curacao is the smallest nation ever, in terms of size and population, to participate in the World Cup.
For a few minutes against Germany on June 14, they dared to dream as they equalized, before losing 7:1.
The team included the Bakunja brothers – former Aston Villa midfielder Leandro (34) and Juninho (28), former Birmingham City and Rangers players.
“That’s one thing we’ve always wanted – when we were kids we dreamed of playing together,” Juninho said.
France, one of the strongest teams in this tournament, has Lucas (30) and Theo Hernandez (28) who play for Paris Saint-Germain and Al Hilal, respectively.
“They have this family bond,” France coach Didier Deschamps said when the brothers first started playing together for the national team in 2021.
“It doesn’t mean anything changes, but I’ll be dealing with two players who have this connection.”
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