Eternal regret? Why the best goalkeeper in Serie A never plays internationals

Few Serie A players have matched Mile Svilar for consistency in recent years. The AS Roma goalkeeper was named Serie A's best goalkeeper in each of the past two seasons and is, along with Donyell Malen among others, one of the most reliable figures for Italy's current league leaders. Yet Svilar never plays international football. Why is that?

Born in Antwerp 27 years ago, Svilar is the son of Serbian father and Antwerp legend Ratko Svilar and his Bosnian-Serbian mother. He grew up in Belgium, where his talent as a goalkeeper quickly became obvious.

He came through the youth academies of Beerschot and Anderlecht and kept progressing through virtually every Belgium youth side. When the time came to make a definitive choice, though, he initially chose Serbia.

Then, in September 2021, the 22-year-old made his debut for Serbia in a friendly against Qatar. After that match, the then Benfica goalkeeper regretted his choice, refused a subsequent Serbia call-up and wanted to switch back to his country of birth, Belgium.

Serbian media assumed the decision was linked to the fierce competition there, with Vanja Milinkovic-Savic (then Torino, now Napoli), Predrag Rajkovic (then RCD Mallorca, now Ittihad Club) and Djordje Petrovic (then Chelsea, now AFC Bournemouth) ahead of him.

That return to Belgium appears impossible. Players can change football nationality if they meet certain conditions. For example, they can have played a maximum of three official internationals, must never have appeared at a final tournament and must have played those internationals before their 21st birthday.

But Svilar made his debut for Serbia five days after his 22nd birthday. Serbia have no longer considered him an option since his decision in 2021, while Belgium cannot call him up. His lawyers have been working on a solution for years, but so far without success.