Being a prominent footballing nation, the England National Football Team has been no stranger to capping players with diverse heritage.
It’s a relatively common practice in modern Football, as players are given the choice to represent their ancestral, given they’re invited of course.
Similarly, the Three Lions have also had stars play for them despite having roots linking elsewhere.
Upon being presented with options, players usually pick the stronger footballing side, or the nation most likely to give them game-time.
Of course, the place they grew up in and national loyalties also carry plenty of influence.
The former has swayed many players towards sporting the Three Lions badge, including 2 important members of their Qatar World Cup squad, namely Jack Grealish and Declan Rice.
Both players had the chance to represent Ireland at a senior level but denied it when England came calling.
Grealish played in Irish colours for 4 years at the youth level, and by the time the senior call-up came, the Manchester City forward had already made up his mind on switching allegiances.
In a similar fashion, Rice also represented Ireland at the youth level, making 20 appearances to be exact.
He qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland on account of his Irish grandparents and even played on 3 occasions for the senior side.
In 2018, England appeared on the scene, and Ireland lost another incredible footballer.
You can imagine that certain Irish fans hold a bit of animosity towards players switching allegiances on a dime, something which became pretty apparent after a picture of Grealish and Rice en route to Qatar popped up online.
Labelled ‘snakes on a plane’, Irish fans made sure to express their dislike of the pair online.
Had the duo been a part of the Irish setup, alongside other major stars who switched sides, Ireland would’ve likely been represented at the World Cup as well.
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