The Xhaka brothers went head-to-head when Albania played Switzerland at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens, France, in the teams’ opening game of Euro 2016.
Basel-born Granit, 23, plays for the county of his birth. But his 25-year-old brother, Taulant, plays for Albania, the country where their Kosovo-Albanian parents were born.
Elmaze, therefore, wore a T-shirt showing half a Swiss flag and half an Albanian flag when she turned up to support her sons during Saturday’s group A match.
Xhaka's mother wearing a shirt with half Albania half Swiss flags.
— Osman (@OsmanZtheGooner)
The match marks the first time the brothers have met on the pitch as opponents – as well as the first time brothers have faced each other at the European Championships – and Granit said he hoped it would be the last, in a Facebook post shared on Friday.