What were they doing playing for Ireland?

I think we are going round in a circle with this.

I studied in the UK in the 80s and worked there in the 90s. I follow English football and England is my second team.

I just don’t see it as how anyone could be pedantic like that. It’s not as though England are world beaters.

Most English players are born in England or have English parents

Yes, but that’s not the point I’m making. You commented “Apart from most of the Irish team” . That’s obvious seeing that many of their parents had to migrate to England.

Kane’s father is Irish, he likely moved to England for financial reasons. So Just saying Apart from most of the Irish team doesn’t really hold much resonance.

I hear quips like this all the time and wonder how English people don’t see the irony.

Not a stretch really. I’m not British or Irish, so I don’t have a bias. But I do see the England team as mostly from migrants from the other countries.

I’m form Georgian stock. We’ve had plenty of players (as have Ukraine, Latvia and others) who’ve played for CCCP. If those parents’ hadn’t have had to migrate for economic reasons, who knows things would have been a whole lot different. What we don’t see is Russian players that have gone the other way and played for the countries mentioned.

It’s a lot based on economics.

You do realise that many talented people of Scotland, Wales and Ireland naturally migrated from their respected countries into England and not the other way round?

It makes one wonder how many pure bred English players would be classed as good enough for England if you omit those players with non-English backgrounds. Not many, me thinks.