Declan Rice is on course to be named in the England squad for this month’s Euro 2020 qualifiers, with the West Ham midfielder’s international clearance having been confirmed by FIFA on Tuesday.
Rice, 20, pledged his international allegiance to England last month despite having already won three senior caps for Republic of Ireland.
But with none of his Irish appearances having come in a competitive fixture, he has been able to switch to England — the country of his birth — in time to make himself available for the start of the Euro 2020 campaign.
London-born Rice represented the Republic at junior level before playing in three friendly internationals for the senior side, having been eligible via his grandparents.
He ended a self-imposed six-month international exile last month when he issued a statement confirming his decision to represent England.
The paperwork for Rice’s switch of allegiance has now come through, enabling him to be named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montenegro.
Southgate, who will name his squad on March 13, has closely monitored Rice’s performances for West Ham in recent weeks and plans to select him for his squad in order to reward his progress.
If Rice makes his England debut against either the Czechs or Montenegro, he will not be able to reverse his decision due to both fixtures being competitive.