Yahoo Sports Five current England players that could have lined out for Ireland
England take on the Republic of Ireland this Saturday, but Lee Carsley’s squad could have looked very different had a number of players chosen a different allegiance.
The Boys In Green have benefitted massively over the past few decades from picking English-born players who qualified to represent them through parentage or the ‘Granny Rule’.
However, the flow of footballers from the diaspora across the water has slowed down considerably in recent years, with more and more Irish-eligible players choosing to line out for the Three Lions.
Declan Rice infamously won three caps for Ireland before switching to England, while Jack Grealish represented the nation of his grandparents at youth level before getting the all-important call from Gareth Southgate.
Carsley, a Birmingham-born former pro who played 40 times for Ireland, will be depending on a number of players who could have been playing in green this weekend. Here are some of the standout names.
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Five England players who were eligible to play for Ireland:
Jude Bellingham
The Real Madrid star qualifies for Ireland through his dad, Mark, who is of Irish descent. A former non-league striker, Mark Bellingham once tweeted out a photo of a very young Jude sporting an Ireland kit.
Although he's English, this is what we could have had.
Best midfielder in the world right now, Jude Bellingham. Picture from the #JB22 short documentary #COYBIG #Ireland @KennysKids pic.twitter.com/uAP7SSd5rS
— RGorman (@GormanR) September 26, 2022
There was scant chance of Ireland nabbing the prodigious talent though, as the FA were well aware of Bellingham from a young age. He actually made his international debut against Ireland as a second-half substitute in a 3-0 win at Wembley in 2020.
Anyway, it's been enjoyable but this half Irish kid is going to go online and watch his mixed race England u21 International son make his competitive debut in the German Cup.
— Mark Bellingham (@Bello1966) September 14, 2020
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Harry Kane
England’s all-time top goal scorer could have represented Ireland thanks to his grandparents from Galway, where he still has relatives. Kane has been known to visit his ancestral home of Letterfrack from time to time, but never had any intention of playing for any national team other than England.
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Conor Gallagher
The former Chelsea midfielder was eligible to play for Ireland or Scotland, but chose to represent the country of his birth. Gallagher even has an Irish girlfriend, Áine May Kennedy, and attended the All-Ireland Hurling final between Clare and Cork earlier this year.
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Harry Maguire
The Manchester United centre-back could have lined out for the Republic through his grandparents, while he was also eligible to play for Northern Ireland. Born in Sheffield, Maguire never came close to representing either team and, Euro 2024 omission aside, has been an England regular since winning his first cap in 2017.
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James Maddison
Lee Carsley may have omitted James Maddison from his squad for this international break, but the Spurs playmaker is nonetheless an England player. The Coventry native, who qualifies through an Irish-born grandparent, rebuffed an approach from then Ireland manager Mick McCarthy in 2019. He’s won just nine caps since then and was left out of Southgate’s Euro 2024 squad.
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