New Delhi: Declan Rice and Jack Grealish, the England goalscorers were booed in their opening fixture of the UEFA Nations League against Republic of Ireland on Saturday. Both stars scored in the Three Lions 2-0 victory at Avia Stadium. Rice and Grealish have both played for Ireland at the international level.
Londoner Declan Rice has made three appearances for the Ireland side and Birmingham’s Jack Grealish has played for Ireland at the youth level before they chose to pursue a career with England side.
The Ireland fans showed frustration towards the Premier League star’s decision to switch allegiances. One banner in the crowd read ‘The snakes are back’ symbolizing their disappointment of losing two key players who could have been great assets for their team.
The same could be said for England, as there were players they might have claimed but didn’t. Let’s take a look at such players who could have formed the starting lineup for England
Kasper Schmeichel (Denmark)
Kasper Schmeichel of Denmark looks on during the UEFA Nations League 2024/2025 League A – Group 4 match between Denmark and Switzerland at Parken on September 5, 2024 in Copenhagen, Denmark. (Photo by Ulrik Pedersen/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Kasper Schmeichel was born in Copenhagen, Denmark but the Danish goalkeeper has spent most of his childhood living in England with his father Peter. The 37-year-old played in the Premier League for Manchester United.
Back in 2007 his father Peter Schmeichel even said, “England is for English people, Kasper was born Danish, all his family is Danish and there is nothing that can make him English.”
Schmeichel has won 107 caps for Denmark and currently plays for Celtic at club level.
Matty Cash (Poland)
Matty Cash of Poland reacts during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Round of 16 match between France and Poland at Al Thumama Stadium on December 04, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Matty Cash was born in Slough, United Kingdom, and has spent his whole life in England. The Aston Villa right-back could never get near an England squad and attained Polish citizenship in 2021 through his mother and joined the Polish national team.
So far, the 27-year-old Polish defender has won 15 caps for Poland and still counting.
Wes Morgan (Jamaica)
Wes Morgan #4 of Jamaica during the Copa America Centenario Group C match between Mexico and Jamaica at the Rose Bowl on June 9, 2016 in Pasadena, California. Mexico won the match 2-0. (Photo by Shaun Clark/Getty Images)
Wes Morgan was born in Nottingham, United Kingdom but he was a regular defender for Jamaica as he got their nationality through his grandparents. Now retired Leicester City number five was a bit of a late bloomer but his most memorable spell came with the Foxes where he won the Premier League title at the age of 32.
Wes Morgan has won 30 caps for Jamaica in his three-year spell from 2013 to 2016.
Ethan Pinnock (Jamaica)
Ethan Pinnock of Jamaica looks on prior the CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 Group B match between Jamaica and Venezuela at Q2 Stadium on June 30, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
Ethan Pinnock was born in London, United Kingdom but he represented Jamaica. In 2021 he attained their citizenship through his father. The 31-year-old has only played for England for their C side in 2016, a team made of non-league players against Estonia under-23.
The Brentford center-back has earned 14 caps for Jamaica and still counting.
Antonee Robinson (United States)
Antonee Robinson #5 of United States about to take a throw in during the CONMEBOL Copa America group C match between the United States and Uruguay at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on July 1, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Bill Barrett/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
Antonee Robinson also nicknamed ‘Jedi’ was born in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom, and raised in Liverpool. The 27-year-old decided to represent the United States. His father was born in England but holds American citizenship having grown up in the US.
The Fulham left-back dropped the chance to join England’s U-21 camp because the US had shown more interest in him and even capped him at U-18 level. By far he has won 46 caps for the Americans.
England struggled with the left-back position in the Euro 2024 and Robinson now an established Premier League player might have filled the void. The Three Lions might have felt he was the one that got away.
Scott McTominay (Scotland)
Scott McTominay of Scotland celebrates scoring a goal that is later disallowed due to a handball during the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 League A Group A1 match between Scotland and Poland at on September 05, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Scott McTominay was born in Lancaster, United Kingdom but represents Scotland because his father holds Scottish citizenship. The 27-year-old has recently joined Manchester United from Napoli in August. He said that he always wanted to represent Scotland but he did not play at youth level for any country.
McTominay was even approached by Gareth Southgate in 2018 but he chose to play for Scotland and by far has won 53 caps.
Simone Perrotta (Italy)
Simone Perrotta of Italy looks on during the friendly match between DFB-All-Stars and Azzurri Legends at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer on October 7, 2019 in Fuerth, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
Simone Perrotta was born in Ashton-under-Lyne, United Kingdom but his parents moved back to Italy when he was a child. He played for several Serie A teams including Juventus and Roma before retiring in 2013.
Simone Perrotta holds 48 caps for Italy. He was even part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup triumph. Near non-league Curzon Ashton’s ground, there is a statue depicting the three World Cup winners of the town- Geoff Hurst, Jimmy Armfield, and Perrotta.
Jamal Musiala (Germany)
Jamal Musiala was at the forefront of every attack Germany made. (Photo by Jürgen Fromme – firo sportphoto/Getty Images)
Jamal Musiala is the most frustrating loss for the England side on this list. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany but was raised in England and even represented the Three Lions side from Under-15 to Under-21 level. The 21-year-old decided to represent the land of his birth at the senior level.
Musiala is considered one of the best players in the world and holds 35 caps to his name for Germany.
Jeremie Frimpong (Netherlands)
Jeremie Frimpong of the Netherlands looks on during the international friendly match between Netherlands and Canada at De Kuip on June 6, 2024 in Rotterdam, Netherlands.(Photo by Rene Nijhuis/MB Media/Getty Images)
Jeremie Frimpong was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands but the defender has spent more than half of his life in the UK. The 23-year-old parents moved to England when he was seven and he has trained for almost 10 years at Manchester City academy before playing for Celtic for two years.
Frimpong joined Bayer Leverkusen’s in 2021. The defender made his debut for the Oranje last year after stating that he was eligible to play for England but felt more Dutch not English.
Gareth Bale (Wales)
Gareth Bale of Wales celebrates after scoring their team’s first goal via a penalty during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group B match between USA and Wales at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on November 21, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Gareth Bale was born in Cardiff, United Kingdom but he chose to play for Wales. Bale went on to become one of Britiain’s greatest footballer and a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid. He even said that he had the choice to chose between England and Wales as his grandmother is from England. He said, “I’m from Wales and proud to be so”.
Bale has represented Wales in three of the four major tournaments. He is even the Wales’ most capped player (111) and highest goalscorer with 41 goals. The former Tottenham Hotspur player retired after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Erling Haaland (Norway)
Erling Haaland of Norway looks on during the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying round group A match between Norway and Scotland at Ullevaal Stadion on June 17, 2023 in Oslo, Norway. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Erling Haaland was born in Leeds, United Kingdom and would have been eligible to represent England side but his family moved to Norway when he was just three. The things could have been different for the Manchester City striker as his father Alf-Inge also a City player need not to retire at 30 years.
Haaland even said, “You never know how it would be if maybe my father played longer in England, maybe I would be English, I don’t know, “But yeah, I’m Norwegian and I’m proud of it.” The 24-year-old striker has played 34 games and scored 31 goals for Norway.
Discover the England players who could’ve represented the Three Lions but chose different national teams. Explore the reasons behind their decisions and the impact it had on English football. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
