Football is – by far – the most popular sport in the United States.

What not as many people know, is that the game has been increasing in popularity around the globe for years. Two players are cause for even more international attention during this weekend’s AFC Championship Game.

New England Patriots right tackle Sebastian Vollmer and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Bjoern Werner are natives of Germany, born 350 miles apart – Vollmer in Düsseldorf, Werner in Berlin. On Sunday, they will line up just a few feet away from each other as their teams compete in the AFC Championship Game.

The winner and his team earn a trip to Super Bowl XLIX, meaning that a native son of Germany is guaranteed a spot in football’s biggest event.

 “I’m all about making football bigger in Germany, and I’m really pumped that I’m in this game and so is another German. We’re in the newspapers at home every day of the week. This game is so huge,” Werner told NFL.com.

Werner started his football journey with his hometown team, Berlin Adler. He came to the states in high school and attended the Salisbury School in Connecticut, where he played football for two years.

While at Salisbury, Werner suited up for Germany in the first International Federation of American Football Under-19 World Championship in 2009 in Canton, Ohio, helping his country finish fourth. IFAF has 68 member nations on six continents, all with national governing bodies dedicated solely to the sport.

USA Football is the United States’ delegate to IFAF, which hosts World Championships in the following divisions: men’s and women’s tackle (20 and older), Under-19 tackle and men’s and women’s flag.

Werner played three years at Florida State before being selected by the Colts during the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Vollmer grew up playing for the Dusseldorf Panthers. He received his big break into the states during the 2003 NFL Global Junior Championship, playing for the European All-Star team and drawing the eyes of many college recruiters

Vollmer played collegiately at the University of Houston. In 2009, the Patriots used a second-round pick to secure Vollmer for their roster.

“It’s great for Germany, simply because a German will be in the Super Bowl,” Vollmer said.

Vollmer has been to a Super Bowl before, losing Super Bowl XLVI to the New York Giants. He was the second German to reach the Super Bowl, following Uwe von Schamann, a kicker for the Miami Dolphins in the 1980s who played in Super Bowls XVII and XIX.

If the Colts win, Werner becomes the third German-born player to compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Throughout the years, an increasing number of players from outside the United States have come to play American football. Through this season, 524 foreign-born players from 87 countries have suited up in NFL uniforms, including 2014 USA Football All-Fundamentals Team selection Tamba Hali, a Kansas City Chiefs linebacker who is a native to Liberia.

Others include Detroit Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah (Ghana), Carolina Panthers defensive tackle Star Lotulelei (Tonga) and Oakland Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski (Poland).

Photos courtesy IndianapolisColts.com and NewEnglandPatriots.com.