Eduardo: If only I could sing both anthems

As a small boy, scoring goal after goal on the pitches of Vila Kennedy, Rio de Janeiro, there can be little doubt Eduardo da Silva will – like untold millions of other Brazilian youngsters – have dreamed of one day representing A Seleção at the FIFA World Cup™. And yet, though he is likely to play a part in the Opening Match of Brazil 2014 at Arena de Sao Paulo on 12 June, which features the host nation, it will not be in the colours of the country of his birth, but of adopted homeland Croatia.

Mixed feelings are, therefore, sure to arise for the 31-year-old striker, who spent eight years in Croatia after first arriving in 1999 and has represented the Vatreni for the past decade. While vowing that his “heart is now Croatian”, the former Dinamo Zagreb and Arsenal player – currently plying his trade for Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk – spoke fully and frankly to FIFA.com about everything surrounding the Opening Match and how he will handle such a pivotal moment in his lengthy career.

FIFA.com: You missed the opportunity of playing at Germany 2006, after then coach Zlatko Kranjcar suggested you were too young, while four years later Croatia failed to qualify. Now, with the World Cup to take place in your birth country, you’ll make your competition debut in the colours of another nation...
Eduardo da Silva: Without a doubt this is a little odd, but I see it as a great opportunity too. I have missed three major tournaments, because there was [UEFA] EURO 2008 as well, when I was still recovering from injury. I experienced what it was like to play [at a major competition] at EURO 2012, but your first World Cup is something special. I could never have imagined this situation: to be Brazilian and have the chance to play in a World Cup in your own country, but in the shirt of another national team. And on top of that, just to complicate things, there’s the Opening Match between the two countries. I could never have imagined such a huge coincidence
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