Carsley is far from the only man involved in today’s game with ties to both of these nations.
Two of the players selected in his squad — Declan Rice and Jack Grealish — represented Republic of Ireland before changing their international allegiance to England.
Irish fans will certainly remember Grealish representing Ireland at Under-17, Under-18 and Under-21 level through his Irish grandparents. However, as he began to make his mark at Aston Villa, he switched allegiances and was called up to England’s U21 side before becoming a senior international in September 2020.
Rice actually went a step further and earned three cups for Republic of Ireland’s senior squad under Martin O’Neill in 2018. In February 2019, he made the controversial decision to switch to England.
Those two will be subject to some rather choice words from home fans at the Aviva Stadium, I would imagine!
