When Scotland kick off their World Cup campaign against Haiti, they will do so with several England-eligible players in their squad, including some who previously represented England at youth level. While those players may have felt conflicted over which country to choose at senior level, it was a different story for former Scottish international Dominic Matteo.
The Dumfries-born defender won the Toulon Tournament with England's Under-21s while at Liverpool, also playing for England B and earning a call-up to the senior side without making an appearance. However, when Scotland came calling, he knew his answer.
"When I was around the England squad, I don't think, being honest, that anybody knew that I was actually part Scottish," Matteo told Mirror Football via betselect.co.uk. "Obviously playing at the Toulon tournament and playing for the B team and certain games for England, I just thought, well, I'll just go with it. No one's kind of realised that I am born in Scotland."
"I've just gone with it, even though I knew that my dad was a huge Scotland fan, and I was myself, to be honest. There was always something that wasn't quite right with me, so it was always like, 'I wonder why Scotland aren't asking.'"
Things could have been very different for Matteo had England's then-manager Glenn Hoddle not left him on the bench for a friendly against Switzerland in March 1998. The defender believes his versatility at the back made him a natural candidate for a sweeper role in Hoddle's 3-5-2 system, but he was not part of that summer's World Cup squad.
There was still some interest when Sven-Goran Eriksson replaced Hoddle. However, a chance meeting with Scotland boss Craig Brown changed the player's trajectory for good.
"When I was in the England squad, I did bump into Craig Brown and he was always saying, 'Someone told me you're Scottish,'" Matteo recalled. "That's how the conversation kind of started, random as that. I think Gazza might have known Browny and he maybe mentioned something."
Matteo made his senior Scotland debut in 2000. "Obviously, knowing where I was born - and I did my research on that because obviously I did the show Long Lost Family and found out my birth mother was from Paisley - I thought, well, this makes sense. I was always a Scotland fan, if you see any young pictures of me you'll see me in a Scotland shirt, so that was kind of the reasoning why."
More recently, players like Elliot Anderson and Harvey Barnes have made headlines after committing to England rather than Scotland. Nottingham Forest's Anderson was called up to Steve Clarke's senior squad without playing but will now represent the Three Lions at the World Cup, while Newcastle's Barnes, a two-cap England international, turned down an opportunity to switch to Clarke's team earlier this year.
Matteo suggests some criticism came his way after he made the change himself. However, he insists his only regret is that injuries denied him more chances to represent the country of his birth.
"When I was in the England squad I had a great time, great people, and obviously winning the Toulon tournament with some great players," he added. "And then being in the Scotland squad, I really enjoyed it because it was just so different."
"I don't mean that in a bad way, it just seemed a little bit more relaxed and... it just felt nice for me to go and be in that Scotland squad. I knew a few of the lads already and it just felt right."
"And I know people say, 'Oh, you're a traitor, you didn't get in the England squad so you end up playing for Scotland.' It wasn't like that at all. If you play one game with your country, it's an honour. I just wish it had been more for Scotland, and that's the truth."
