page_title: Jason Koumas
section_title: International career
hierarchical_section_title: Jason Koumas / International career
caption_attribution_description: English: Football players Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson of Iceland (blue) and Jason Koumas of Wales (red) during match against their national teams.
context_page_description: Jason Koumas is a Welsh former professional footballer who played for Tranmere Rovers, Cardiff City, West Bromwich Albion and Wigan Athletic, as well as the Welsh national team.
  He was selected in both the 2005–06 and 2006–07 Football League Championship team of the season.
  On 12 May 2016, Leon Barton wrote in a long blog post for The Guardian that Koumas's talent - often described as "mercurial" - was no less than Steven Gerrard's, but that he had lacked the spirit and determination to succeed at the highest level.
context_section_description: Born in Wrexham to a Greek Cypriot father and an English mother, Koumas was eligible to play for Cyprus, England and Wales. When he received call ups for both Cyprus and Wales, he opted for the latter. Koumas played 34 times for his country, making his international debut against Ukraine in 2001. He was part of Mark Hughes's Welsh team which narrowly missed out on qualification for Euro 2004, losing 1–0 to Russia in the play-offs.
  His international career was blighted by his persistent failure to turn up to training. In May 2006, he pulled out of a squad get-together in San Sebastián. He came back onto the international scene with three goals in two matches, one in a 3–1 win against Cyprus in October 2006 and two in a 4–0 win in November 2006 against Liechtenstein.
  Koumas captained his country for the first time on 1 June 2008, as Wales lost 2–0 to the Netherlands. He missed a penalty for Wales in a World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan. Koumas retired from international football on 6 September 2009, having scored ten goals in 34 caps. His final appearance for Wales was in a 2–0 defeat to Finland on 28 March 2009.
caption: Koumas (red) and Gunnar Heiðar Þorvaldsson (blue) during international match between Iceland and Wales
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