England is an increasingly multicultural country and one side effect is that footballers born on these shores have often chosen to tap into their heritage and represent another nation.
Plenty of footballers have chosen the famous white shirt over other options, including Declan Rice, John Barnes and Raheem Sterling. But others have gone in a different direction.
We’ve identified 11 players who turned down the chance to represent England at international level.
Erling Haaland
Born in Leeds during dad Alf-Inge’s time in the Premier League, Haaland was always eligible to play for England.
But the Manchester City goal machine chose to represent Norway at international level and has already bagged 21 goals in 22 appearances for his country.
Norway haven’t reached a major tournament since Euro 2000 but, with Haaland and Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard in their squad, surely it’s only a matter of time before the Scandinavians return to the big time.
🇳🇴 Erling Haaland has scored more goals in the Premier League than Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gabriel Jesus in 2022.
He only made his debut in August… 🤖 pic.twitter.com/8B6MoWaCTo
— PLClassics (@PLClassics) September 25, 2022
Jamal Musiala
After a sparkling performance against Lazio in the 2020-21 Champions League, which he capped with a goal, Musiala was the subject of fevered speculation over his international future.
Having been born in Stuttgart and raised in London, the midfielder was eligible for both England and Germany.
But the prodigious teenager chose the four-time World champions. He told The Athletic: “I’ve thought about this question a lot. What is best for my future? Where do I have more chances to play?
“In the end, I just listened to the feeling that over a long period of time kept telling me that it was the right decision to play for Germany, the land I was born in. Still, it wasn’t an easy decision for me!”
With the multitude of creative options around the current England squad, Musiala’s decision looks pragmatic and sensible.
Ryan Giggs
Born in Cardiff to Welsh parents, Giggs went to school in Salford and represented England at schoolboy level in 1989 – captaining the team nine times and beating Wales 4-0 on one occasion.
But Giggs made his debut for the Welsh national team in 1991, robbing England of a solution to the infamous left-side problem.
“I’d rather go through my career without qualifying for a major championship than play for a…
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