Poland's Matty Cash (left) competes with Zsolt Nagy of Hungary on Monday in Warsaw, Poland. Photo: IC

"A dream come true," was how Aston Villa defender Matty Cash described his international debut for Poland, just weeks after being granted Polish nationality. 

The Slough-born fullback's bow came against Andorra when he came off the bench to replace Przemyslaw Frankowski.  

"It is a dream come true and a special moment for me. We looked great and it was an exceptional victory," Cash said after Poland won 4-1. 

"Every time I play, I give 100 percent. I had a good time playing with the boys. I hope I will continue to do so. The training camp was fantastic. I enjoyed every moment. The boys greeted me kindly. I love to be here and I love to play for Poland."  

Cash, whose father played in the lower leagues in England, qualified for Poland based on his mother's side of the family.  

He was proud after his debut, which saw goals from Robert Lewandowski, Kamil Jozwiak and Arkadiusz Milik. 

"I hope to be able to do this many more times. I spoke to the coach before the game and he told me I would play for a part of the game. I didn't know how many, but I was ready. I will remember this moment forever." 

Cash is not the only player eligible to play for England that has turned their back on the Three Lions, of course.  

Indeed, the current England crop - who have secured a place at next year's FIFA World Cup - could have looked very different at Qatar 2022 if some of those players had taken a different path.  

Erling Haaland, the most wanted striker in world football, could have chosen England over Norway. 

The Borussia Dortmund hitman, who is expected to have his pick of ­Europe's elite clubs next summer when his 75 million euro release clause kicks in, was born in England.  

Haaland was born in Leeds where his father Alfe-Inge Haaland played for English Premier League side Leeds United in a career that also saw him play at Manchester City, before moving back to Norway, the country of both of his parents' birth, when he was aged 4. 

England fans might well wonder what might have been with Haaland up front in Qatar 2022 but he is not the only one who Gareth Southgate cannot call on that might well line up against them in coming tournaments. 

Giovanni Reyna, a teammate of Haaland at Borussia Dortmund, is another who got away from the Three Lions.  

The midfielder is a USA international, just as his parents both were, but he could have played for England having also been born there. 

Reyna's father Claudio was playing for Sunderland and the future Dortmund player was born in the town before the family moved back to the US when Giovanni was aged 5. 

Gio, now 18, has played several times for the US and has been tipped as a futre captain like his father. 

The likes of Haaland and Reyna might never have come close to playing for England, seeing as they left the country so young and built their careers elsewhere, in the same country that their fathers - and in Reyna's case, also his mother - played international football for but there are cases where England can rightly kick themselves. 

West Ham United's Michail Antonio was called up to play for the Three Lions under two different England managers but never got onto the pitch for either Sam Allardyce or his replacement, Southgate. 

Antonio, 31, has been in fine form for the English Premier League's surprise package and despite being born and raised in London, he made it clear he was willing to be called up by Jamaica, the country where both of his parents were born.  

The former non-league footballer has since made his Reggae Boyz debut, playing against Panama in a FIFA World Cup qualifier. 

There are others. 

Chile's Ben Brereton - or Ben Brereton Diaz as his Chilean name would prefer it - could have played for England and even did so at age-group levels. However, he has since decided to answer the call for the South American side, the country of his mother's birth.  

The Chilean FA called up the Blackburn Rovers striker in May ahead of their FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia.  

That call-up came after fans had noticed that the striker was registered as being able to play for Chile on the Football Manager simulation game and demanded on social media that he be picked for the national team. In time the media picked up on it and so did the Chilean FA, with Martin Lasarte eventually calling him into the fold. 

Brereton scored the winner in his second game, his first start for La Roja, as Chile beat Bolivia 1-0. He since played for them at the Copa America in the summer. 

The Chile striker, 22, started out at Manchester United, where he spent several years at the Academy a couple of years behind another player who might face England in the future rather than represent them. 

Scott McTominay has remained at the club but he switched his international allegiance from the country of his birth to north of the border, the land his father was born. 

The midfielder was recommended to England by his then club boss Jose Mourinho in 2018 when the Manchester United manager said the Three Lions "were missing" McTominay but Scotland acted swiftly. 

National team boss Alex McLeish traveled down to Manchester and got McTominay over the line and over the border internationally, though the midfielder said that he had always wanted to play for the Tartan Army. 

"The conversation we had was relatively simple. I wanted to play for Scotland and I always have done since I was a young boy and it was an incredibly proud moment for me when he did call me up and hopefully I can kick on and do well." 

Scotland made it to the Euros and hope to secure a spot at the World Cup.