Aston Villa's Matty Cash receives first call-up to the Poland squad
Aston Villa star Matty Cash receives his first call-up to the Poland squad after the right back switched allegiance from England last month ahead of World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary
- Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash has been called up by the Poland national side
- The Slough-born star pledged his allegiance to Robert Lewandowski and Co
- He qualifies through his mother’s side and had given up on playing for England
Aston Villa defender Matty Cash has received his first call up to the Poland squad after he switched his allegiance from England last month.
The right-back – who was born in Slough – qualifies to play for the Polish side through his mother’s side of the family and successfully had his citizenship changed in October after talks with the Polish FA – with boss Paulo Sousa quickly opting to call him up for upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Hungary.
Cash has impressed for Dean Smith’s Villans since joining from Nottingham Forest for £14million at the beginning of last season but the 24-year-old had given up on the prospect of playing for England – with the likes of Kyle Walker, Reece James Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Aaron Wan-Bissaka ahead of him in the pecking order.
Aston Villa right back Matty Cash has received his first call up to the Polish national side
Poland are in the same qualifying group as England for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and grabbed a dramatic point against the Three Lions in September before thrashing San Marino 5-0 and nicking a 1-0 win over Albania.
They are in a strong position to qualify for next year’s World Cup, giving Cash a great opportunity to feature at a major international tournament.
Announcing their latest squad of 27 players on their official Twitter account, Poland revealed Cash had been selected by Sousa alongside the likes of Juventus keeper Woijech Szceszny, Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski, Napoli star Arkadiusz Milik and Leeds United star Mateusz Klich.
The 24-year-old switched allegiance to Poland after having his citizenship confirmed last week
The defender took to Twitter to thank the president and his family and vowed to do his best
Writing in Polish to confirm his decision to switch allegiances last month, Cash hailed a ‘very important day’ and said it was ‘an honour’ to represent his new team, and promised to give his all.
‘This is a very important day for me and my family. My application for Polish citizenship has been approved by the Polish authorities.
‘I would like to thank the president, my family and other people who helped me in this. Time for new challenges, I will do my best for this country.
Cash has made the right-back berth his own since sealing his move to Aston Villa in 2020
‘It is an honour and an extremely important moment for me and my family. I’ll do my best on the pitch and I can’t wait to put on a shirt with an eagle on the chest. Let’s fight for Poland.’
Cash came through the youth ranks at Wycombe Wanderers before joining Forest aged 17 in 2014 – eventually progressing to become a regular member of the first team and playing 141 times before Villa came calling last summer.
He has made the right back berth his own in the Midlands too, featuring 28 times last season and starting all ten games of this campaign.
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