International Career
The son of a Greek Cypriot chip shop owner, Koumas was eligible to play for both Cyprus and Wales. When he received call ups for both countries, he opted for the latter. Koumas has played 34 times for his country, since 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 Sebastian. However, manager John Toshack accepted his reasons, and Koumas himself vowed to improve his poor attendance record. He came back onto the international scene with three goals in two matches, one against Cyprus in October 2006 which set Wales on their way to a 3–1 victory, and a spectacular brace in November 2006 against Liechtenstein which saw Wales run out comfortable 4–0 winners. John Toshack has since announced that Koumas will be one of his key components as Wales attempt to qualify for Euro 2008 and the World Cup in 2010
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.
He 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.
Read more about this topic: Jason Koumas
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