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Xhaka brothers get set for sibling rivalry

There could be a European Championship first when Switzerland face Albania in Lens, with the prospect of two brothers lining up for different countries.

Twenty-three year old Swiss Granit Xhaka, who has recently signed for Arsenal, might be opposing his older sibling Taulant, 25, in central midfield.

Arsenal's new signing Granit Xhaka could face his older brother Taulant. Credit: PA

It is unprecedented at a European Championship and rare in international football. The Boatengs, Germany's Jerome and Ghana's Kevin-Prince, have twice faced each other in World Cups, though they are half-brothers.

Both are of Kosovan descent but their parents migrated to Switzerland when the country accepted thousands of Kosovar Albanians who fled the Balkan wars in the 1990s following the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.

Albania's Taulant has made a bet with Granit on the outcome. Credit: PA

Granit, whose team-mates Xherdan Shaqiri, Blerim Dzemaili, Valon Behrami, Shani Tarashaj and Admir Mehmedi are also of Albanian descent, said ahead of the game: "We've made a bet [on the outcome] but have not yet decided on the reward.

"I will give my best for Switzerland just as Taulant will for Albania."

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