Only English people should play football for
England, says midfielder Jack Wilshere.
Manchester United's Adnan Januzaj could play for
England if he passes Fifa's five-year residency
requirement, as he is yet to commit to another
country.
Midfielder Januzaj, 18, is eligible for selection by
Belgium, Serbia, Albania and Turkey.
Asked about the issue, Wilshere said: "If you live in
England for five years it doesn't make you English."
The 21-year-old Arsenal player added: "If I went to
Spain and lived there for five years, I'm not going to
play for Spain."
England boss Roy Hodgson has confirmed he has been
monitoring Januzaj.
Wilshere, who earlier this week insisted he is not a
smoker despite being pictured with a cigarette outside a
nightclub, added: "We have to remember what we are.
"We are English. We tackle hard, are tough on the pitch
and are hard to beat.
"We have great characters. You think of Spain and you
think technical but you think of England and you think
they are brave and they tackle hard. We have to
remember that.
"The only people who should play for England are
English people."
Liverpool's Raheem Sterling, born in Jamaica, and
Wilfried Zaha of Manchester United, born in Ivory
Coast, are part of the England Under-21 set-up along
with West Brom's Saido Berahino, who left war-torn
Burundi as a 10-year-old.
"It's a difficult one," said England Under-21 coach
Gareth Southgate. "He [Januzaj] has not played for
anyone else.
"We have lots of boys in our squad who were not born
here, whose families have fled here.
"There are some wonderful stories and they are all
incredibly proud to play for England.
"I'm torn with it. The world is changing. People move
and work abroad. It is important to know why
someone wants to play for you."
Former Football Association chairman David Bernstein
said England must "play within the rules and get the
best team we can".
He told BBC Radio 5 live: "There is much more fluidity
in terms of population movement.
"I would say we must play within the rules but if
players are eligible, I would be inclined to pick the best
players we can get. Other countries do that."
Cricketers Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior and Jonathan
Trott play for England despite being born in South
Africa.
Southgate added: "We seem to have embraced the
cricket team that has won the Ashes, but it is a really
interesting, philosophical debate."
Januzaj, who joined United in 2011 from Belgian club
Anderlecht for a reported fee of nearly £300,000, was
born in Brussels.
He has turned down the advances of Belgium, and has
not won a cap at any level for any country.
Januzaj qualifies for Albania through his Kosovan-
Albanian parents, Turkey through his grandparents and
Serbia as Kosovo's independence has not been
recognised by the United Nations.
Kosovo's national team are not members of Uefa or
Fifa.
Fifa, the sport's governing body, states a player is
eligible if "he has lived continuously for at least five
years after reaching the age of 18 on the territory of
the relevant association".
That would mean Januzaj would have to wait until 2018
to represent England, assuming he remains in the
country until he turns 23.
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