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15th March 2025
01:14pm GMT
Jamie Carragher's son James has been called up to the Malta squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
The Wigan Athletic defender has earned his first international call-up after his performances for the League One side this season.
Carragher, 22, was born in England, but qualifies for Malta through his great-grandfather Paul Vassallo.
Jamie and James recently obtained Maltese citizenship, which paved the way for James to represent the Mediterranean island.
Bjorn Vassallo, the president of the Malta FA, confirmed earlier this year that the process had started to enable Carragher to play for the national team, saying:
"We’ve been in talks with James and Jamie for months. He is open to playing, but we’re still working on it."
Carragher could make his debut during the upcoming international window in qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Malta host Finland on March 21 before travelling to face Poland on March 24.
The country is currently ranked 166th in the FIFA world rankings.
Carragher has been a regular in League One this season, with the Latics currently in 15th place in the table. James started his career with Liverpool before moving to Wigan in 2017.
He has had loan spells with Oldham Athletic and Inverness Caledonian Thistle before establishing himself with Wigan.
James' father Jamie played 38 times for England, and was also eligible to represent Malta and Ireland. Jamie's maternal grandfather was from Malta, and his paternal grandfather was Irish.
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