Was Troy Parrott ever eligible for England?

Troy Parrott of Republic of Ireland celebrates scoring his team’s first goal — Parrott for England? Well, no, obviously not (Image credit: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Look away now, Ireland: the Englishmen are at it again. Honestly, haven't we collectively as a nation done enough?

Republic of Ireland frontman Troy Parrott has risen to prominence (once again) this season, with a winning goal against Real Madrid, a winner on his Champions League debut and now a sublime individual goal against Austria for his country.

Which begs the question for those of us this side of the Irish Sea…

No, Troy Parrott was NEVER available for England

Troy Parrott in action for Tottenham against Inter in the International Champions Cup in August 2019. — Thomas Tuchel has spoken out against the charges (Image credit: Getty Images)

Parrott was a highly-rated product of the Tottenham Hotspur academy, making his debut in 2019 and leaving for good in 2024, following loans at Millwall, Ipswich Town, MK Dons, Preston North End, and Excelsior in the Netherlands.

In what seems so very typical of Tottenham in the last few years, it was only when he was sold to AZ Alkmaar that the centre-forward started looking like he could genuinely be the real deal, notching better than a goal every other game and earning a move to Real Betis.

But while Spurs really did have the opportunity to replace Harry Kane with Troy Parrott, England never did: no, Parrott has never been eligible for the Three Lions.

The striker was born in Dublin and lived there until 2017, when he moved to North London to join the Lilywhites, having represented the under-17s, under-19s and under-21s for Ireland.

Under FIFA regulations, he held no ancestral or birth qualifications to represent any country other than that of his birth.

England have profited from several players over the years who were eligible to play for the Boys in Green – most notably Jack Grealish and Declan Rice.

Grealish only played for Ireland's youth teams and was awarded the Under-21 player of the year by the Football Association of Ireland in March 2015, though he confirmed just six months later that he had decided to represent England, where he was born.

Declan Rice celebrates a Republic of Ireland goal against the United States in 2018. — Declan Rice played three games in green (Image credit: Getty Images)

Rice, meanwhile, played three times for the country of his paternal grandparents in 2018 before switching to make his England debut in 2019 – even scoring against Ireland in 2024 and raising his hands in apology.

Kane himself was also eligible for the Irish national team, through his father, who was born in Galway.

TOPICS

Mark White has been at on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, first as a staff writer before becoming content editor in 2023. An encyclopedia of football shirts and boots knowledge – both past and present – Mark has also represented FFT at both FA Cup and League Cup finals (though didn't receive a winners' medal on either occasion) and has written pieces for the mag ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career. He has written cover features for the mag on Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard, and is assisted by his cat, Rosie, who has interned for the brand since lockdown.