Declan Rice’s decision to switch international allegiance to England “went down like a lead balloon”, according to former Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy.
The West Ham midfielder made the change in 2019. Born and raised in England, Rice qualified to play for Ireland through his grandparents and made three senior appearances under Martin O’Neill, all in friendly games.
Rice was named Irish Player of the Year at under-17 and under-19 level, and was Irish Young Player of the Year in 2019 - after switching to England. He made his debut against the Czech Republic in March 2019 and now has seven international caps for England to his name.