While players born overseas representing Ireland in football is nothing new, it has been remarkable to see just how much variety has been in Irish youth squads in recent years.

Footballers born in the UK playing for Ireland is nothing new, but the FAI have began to look even further afield in recent times.

Spanish-born players have become a regular occurrence in the Irish setup, with the likes of John Patrick, Anselmo Garcia MacNulty, and Caden McLoughlin all featuring at various age groups. We have also seen players born in the likes of Germany and Luxembourg pull on the green jersey.

In saying that, a new member of the Ireland U19 squad may be the most unlikely call-up yet.

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Ireland U19s Add South American Based Player To Latest Squad

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Argentina is a country that shares plenty of links with Ireland, with quite a few people from this country making their way to that part of the world during the 1800s. As a result, seeing Irish surnames in the South American nation is not an unusual occurrence (Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister is just one example).

Of course, heritage that stretches back that far would not make a player eligible to represent Ireland at international level.

Now, we will see an Argentine-born player linkup with an Irish squad. The wonderfully named Patricio Schroeder has been named in the Ireland U19 squad for two games against France this month.

An 18-year old goalkeeper, Schroeder still lives in Argentina, lining out for Gimnasia. He qualifies for Ireland via his Derry-born mother.

In an interview in the Belfast Telegraph in 2024, Schroeder said he was keen to represent Ireland on the international stage.

My family go to visit Ireland early summer for a month and although I haven’t been since 2019 because of football, I love the country and have great memories of summers there.

I want to go again soon but hopefully it will because I’m representing Ireland…

My brother and I have already got an Irish and UK passport.

My mom has always told us how special it is that we are Irish and we are so proud of it. Having an Irish passport opens up a lot of opportunities and I can move to Europe whenever I want.

The player also stated his goal to move to play his club football in Europe, a goal that will be made easier due to his Irish heritage.

While it remains to be seen how much of an impact Patricio Schroeder will have with Ireland, there is sure to be an added layer of intrigue related to his fortunes with the team due to his unusual background.

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