After a long wait, Declan Rice has (unsurprisingly) chosen to play for England. Judging on his performances this season, Rice could be in the starting XI and England reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup must've influenced his decision, given Ireland failed to qualify.
It is a massive blow for Ireland as he was arguably their best player and young prospect coming through. As a man of dual nationality, English and Irish like Rice, it does seem like a no brainer to declare for England.
The fact, though, that Rice played 3 games for Ireland, albeit friendlies, shows a problem when it comes to eligibility. The rules should change. Competitive fixture or not, if you play for a country, then you have chosen to play for that country.
It is very difficult for a person of dual nationality to choose one country over another. In my case, I feel as Irish as I am English. It must've been an incredibly difficult decision for Rice, given he'd been capped by Ireland, but an England international will always have more benefits than being Irish.
Rice was always going to be swayed by his country of birth. Ireland have benefited immensely from the 'granny rule' in the past but not this time. To question whether he is a "proud Irishman" is unfair. If he wasn't a proud Irishman, he'd have never played for Ireland.
Ireland should really have no complaints in this situation. They can feel somewhat unlucky but it represents a failing system that Ireland rely on players from the 'granny rule'. The FAI should put more emphasis on youth development in Ireland and not suffer the same results as Rice or Jack Grealish.
Ultimately, the FIFA eligibility rules need revamping. The implementation of players declaring after a competitive match was aimed to stop situations like this. England can look forward to having a fantastic central midfielder in their team but for Ireland, they have missed out on their best young prospect and must invest in youth development to improve Irish youngsters.
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