There have been conflicting reports about this today.
Declan Rice has decided to play for England, according to Sky Sports News.
The broadcaster claims that the West Ham United midfielder has opted to play for the country of his birth.
https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/1047802969201172480?s=19
Rice has three senior caps for the Republic of Ireland and has played for the country at underage level. As he only appeared in friendly games at senior level, the 19-year-old is eligible to switch allegiances to England.
Gareth Southgate admitted last month that he has been in contact with Rice about potentially representing the country.
Rice asked to be omitted from Ireland’s squad for matches against Wales and Poland in September as he wanted time to decide his international future.
If the Sky report is to be believed, then he has opted against representing Ireland again and will concentrate on trying to break into Southgate’s squad.
Understand #whufc Declan Rice has decided he wants to play for #england in future, rather than #roi. He has again rejected a call-up from Martin O’Neill today, to avoid playing in a competitive match, which would have precluded him under FIFA rules from playing for Eng in future.
— Rob Dorsett (@RobDorsettSky) October 4, 2018
If Rice has decided to switch allegiance to England, he will have to wait for international clearance from Fifa, which could take a couple of months.
Earlier on Thursday, Martin O’Neill announced his provisional Ireland squad for upcoming matches against Wales and Denmark in Dublin.
Rice wasn’t in the squad, but the Ireland manager said he was “hopeful” the player would represent the country again.
“I’ve spoken to Declan and the family. They want a little bit more time to make his mind up. He hasn’t made a decision yet. I am hopeful.”
O’Neill’s comments directly contradict the Sky report. So, until Rice himself speaks on the matter, there is no way of knowing for sure what his decision will be.
FAI sources now saying that Sky are about to amend their story… https://t.co/kgw8qUmjts
— emmet malone (@emmetmalone) October 4, 2018
For what it’s worth, Rice liked this FAI tweet on Twitter, where O’Neill was speaking about the player potentially representing Ireland again.
