One can't help but notice that the UEFA Champions League has a serious lack of American footballers. Here's a rundown of all 43 countries that were represented by players in the Starting Elevens for both Legs of the Round of 16. The only countries ranked higher than the U.S. in the latest FIFA poll without representation: #13 Costa Rica, #14 Romania, #22 Slovakia, #26 Israel, #28 Denmark and #29 Ecuador. Some of the more surprising nations to be represented? #89 Morocco, #80 Paraguay, #79 Armenia, #71 Bulgaria, #61 Albania and #54 Gabon. Other stuff worth noting:
-Brazil has the most players (31) despite not being in Europe.
-Portugal's FC Porto starts no Portuguese players
-None of England's 3 Teams start more than 2 English players
-Belgium and the Netherlands, the 2nd and 3rd highest ranking teams in Europe each only featured 3 players in UCL Round of 16 Starting XIs.
-The highest ranking team in Europe without representation in the UCL Round of 16 is Romania (#14)
Here's the complete list:
ALBANIA (2)
Shkëlzen Gashi - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
Taulant Xhaka - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
ALGERIA (1)
Yacine Brahimi - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
ARGENTINA (10)
Sergio Agüero - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1 & 2
Martín Demichelis - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1 & 2
Ezequiel Lavezzi - Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) - vs Chelsea, Leg 1
Javier Mascherano - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
Lionel Messi - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
Javier Pastore - PSG - vs Chelsea, Leg 2
Roberto Pereyra - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 2
Walter Samuel - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
Carlos Tevez - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Pablo Zabaleta - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1
ARMENIA (1)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1 & 2
AUSTRIA (2)
David Alaba - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
Christian Fuchs - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 2
BELGIUM (3)
Thibaut Courtois - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Eden Hazard - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Vincent Kompany - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1 & 2
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (2)
Edin Džeko - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1
Emir Spahić - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
BRAZIL (31)
Luiz Adriano - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Dani Alves - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
Casemiro - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
Danilo - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
Douglas Costa - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Evandro - FC Porto vs FC Basel, Leg 2
Fabiano - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
Fabinho - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
Fernandinho - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 2
Fernando - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1
Fernando - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1
Fred - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
David Luiz - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
Maicon - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
Marcelo - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1
Marquinhos - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
Maxwell - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
Miranda - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1 & 2
Neymar - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
Oscar - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 2
Rafinha - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
Ramires - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Alex Sandro - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
Lucas Silva - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1
Thiago Silva - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
Guilherme Siqueira - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1
Taison - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Alex Teixeira - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Wallace - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
Wendell - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Willian - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1
BULGARIA (1)
Dimitar Berbatov - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
CAMEROON (3)
Vincent Aboubakar - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 2
Maxim Choupo-Moting - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1
Joël Matip - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
CHILE (2)
Alexis Sánchez - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
Arturo Vidal - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
COLOMBIA (2)
Jackson Martínez - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1
David Ospina - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
CROATIA (4)
Mario Mandžukić - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1 & 2
Ivan Rakitić - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
Darijo Srna - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Danijel Subašić - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
CZECH REPUBLIC (2)
Marek Suchý - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1
Tomáš Vaclík - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
EGYPT (1)
Mohamed Elneny - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
ENGLAND (6)
Gary Cahill - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Kieran Gibbs - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1
Joe Hart - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1 & 2
James Milner - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1 & 2
John Terry - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Danny Welbeck - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
FRANCE (18)
Karim Benzema - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1 & 2
Gaël Clichy - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1
Francis Coquelin - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
Patrice Evra - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Olivier Giroud - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
Antoine Griezmann - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1 & 2
Geoffrey Kondogbia - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
Laurent Koscielny - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
Layvin Kurzawa - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 2
Anthony Martial - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
Jérémy Mathieu - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 2
Blaise Matuidi - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
Samir Nasri - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1 & 2
Paul Pogba - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Franck Ribéry - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
Bacary Sagna - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 2
Jérémy Toulalan - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 2
Raphaël Varane - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1 & 2
GABON (1)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1 & 2
GERMANY (28)
Dennis Aogo - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1
Holger Badstuber - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 2
Karim Bellarabi - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Lars Bender - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Sven Bender - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 2
Jérôme Boateng - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
Gonzalo Castro - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Mario Götze - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
İlkay Gündoğan - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1 & 2
Roberto Hilbert - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Marco Höger - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Benedikt Höwedes - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Mats Hummels - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1 & 2
Sami Khedira - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 2
Toni Kroos - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1 & 2
Bernd Leno - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Per Mertesacker - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
Max Meyer - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 2
Thomas Müller - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
Manuel Neuer - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
Roman Neustädter - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Mesut Özil - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
Marco Reus - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1 & 2
Marcel Schmelzer - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1 & 2
Bastian Schweinsteiger - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
Marc-André ter Stegen - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
Roman Weidenfeller - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1 & 2
Timon Wellenreuther - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
GHANA (1)
Kevin Prince-Boateng - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1
GREECE (2)
Kyriakos Papadopoulos - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1
Sokratis Papastathopoulos - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1 & 2
ITALY (9)
Leonardo Bonucci - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Gianluigi Buffon - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Giorgio Chiellini - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Ciro Immobile - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1
Claudio Marchisio - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Thiago Motta - PSG - vs Chelsea, Leg 2
Andrea Pirlo - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1
Salvatore Sirigu - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
Marco Verratti - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
IVORY COAST (1)
Yaya Touré - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 2
JAPAN (1)
Atsuto Uchida - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1
MALI (1)
Almamy Touré - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1
MEXICO (1)
Héctor Herrera - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
MOROCCO (1)
Nabil Dirar - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
NETHERLANDS (3)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Arjen Robben - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1 & 2
Gregory van der Wiel - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1
NIGERIA (1)
Uwa Echiéjilé - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1
PARAGUAY (1)
Derlis González - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
POLAND (2)
Robert Lewandowski - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 2
Łukasz Piszczek - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1
PORTUGAL (5)
Fábio Coentrão - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 2
Tiago Mendes - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1
João Moutinho - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
Pepe - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1 & 2
Cristiano Ronaldo - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1 & 2
SERBIA (5)
Branislav Ivanović - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Aleksandar Kolarov - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 2
Nemanja Matić - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Matija Nastasić - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Neven Subotić - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 2
SLOVENIA (1)
Kevin Kampl - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 2
SOUTH KOREA (1)
Heung-Min Son - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
SPAIN (29)
Jordi Alba - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
Xabi Alonso - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1
Álvaro Arbeloa - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 2
César Azpilicueta - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Héctor Bellerín - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
Juan Bernat - Bayern Munich - vs Shakhtar Donetsk, Leg 1
Sergio Busquets - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1
Cani - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 2
Daniel Carvajal - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1
Iker Casillas - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1 & 2
Santi Cazorla - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 1 & 2
Diego Costa - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Cesc Fàbregas - Chelsea - vs PSG, Leg 1 & 2
Gabi - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1
Jesús Gámez - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 2
Andrés Iniesta - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
Isco - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1 & 2
Juanfran - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1 & 2
Koke - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 2
Iván Marcano - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
Nacho Monreal - Arsenal - vs AS Monaco, Leg 2
Álvaro Morata - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Miguel Moyà - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1 & 2
Saúl Ñíguez - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1
Óliver - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1
Gerard Piqué - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
David Silva - Manchester City - vs Barcelona, Leg 1 & 2
Mario Suárez - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 2
Cristian Tello - FC Porto - vs FC Basel, Leg 1 & 2
SWEDEN (2)
Zlatan Ibrahimović - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
Behrang Safari - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
SWITZERLAND (7)
Tranquillo Barnetta - Schalke 04 - vs Real Madrid, Leg 2
Josip Drmic - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Fabian Frei - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
Stephan Lichsteiner - Juventus - vs Borussia Dortmund, Leg 1 & 2
Fabian Schär - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 2
Marco Streller - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
Luca Zuffi - FC Basel - vs FC Porto, Leg 1 & 2
TUNISIA (1)
Aymen Abdennour - AS Monaco - vs Arsenal, Leg 1 & 2
TURKEY (4)
Hakan Çalhanoğlu - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 1 & 2
Nuri Şahin - Borussia Dortmund - vs Juventus, Leg 1
Ömer Toprak - Bayer Leverkusen - vs Atletico Madrid, Leg 2
Arda Turan - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1 & 2
UKRAINE (5)
Oleksandr Kucher - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Andriy Pyatov - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Yaroslav Rakytskiy - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Vyacheslav Shevchuk - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 1 & 2
Taras Stepanenko - Shakhtar Donetsk - vs Bayern Munich, Leg 2
URUGUAY (4)
Edinson Cavani - Paris Saint-Germain - vs Chelsea, Leg 1 & 2
José Giménez - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 2
Diego Godín - Atletico Madrid - vs Bayer Leverkusen, Leg 1
Luis Suárez - Barcelona - vs Manchester City, Leg 1 & 2
WALES (1)
Gareth Bale - Real Madrid - vs Schalke 04, Leg 1 & 2
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