Jamie Carragher's son, James Carragher, has earned his first international call-up, but not for England like his famous father.

Jamie Carragher, a stalwart on the England team with 38 caps, will now see his son don the colours of another nation, following the awarding of Maltese citizenship to both last month.

With his roots traced back through his paternal grandfather, James is eligible to play for Malta and could feature on the international stage as Malta prepare to go head-to-head with Finland in a World Cup qualifier next Friday.



The victor would then potentially clash with football heavyweights Poland, and the opportunity for young Carragher to pit his skills against prolific forward Robert Lewandowski.

Jamie Carragher's son handed first international call up after switching allegiance from England	Jamie Carragher’s son gets international call-up	Jamie Carragher's son set for Robert Lewandowski showdown after shock international call-up

Malta Football Association president Bjorn Vassallo spoke positively about the acquisition of Carragher, revealing a lengthy negotiation process: "We've been in talks with James and his father Jamie for the last few months now; he is open to it, but we're still working on it."

In light of FIFA's regulations, James Carragher will be ineligible to play for England once he steps onto the pitch for Malta in a competitive match.

In recent matches, Wigan have successfully kept a clean sheet in their last two matches in March, with James playing a pivotal role in these defensive triumphs.

He made his debut for Wigan came in the 2021-22 season before a loan spell at Oldham Athletic in the National League.

Subsequently, James made an impact with 20 appearances for Scottish club Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the latter half of last season.

James' trajectory was marred by injuries until his stint at Inverness allowed him to get his career back on track.

Last year, his dad was nearly brought to tears reflecting on the emotional strain these setbacks inflicted.

On an episode of The Overlap with Ian Wright and Peter Schmeichel, Jamie confided: "12 months ago I was in a dark place over my son's injuries.