Magpies Jack and Ryan Walsh become fifth brothers to represent England

Ryan Walsh (right) with Harry Tozer on England duty.

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Maidenhead United Futsal players, Jack and Ryan Walsh, have become only the fifth brothers to play together for England’s Men’s football or futsal teams.

The pair have been recalled to the Three Lions Futsal squad for the upcoming round of European Championship qualifiers against Spain and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are joined by fellow Magpie, Harry Tozer as the trio eye qualification for the European Championships for the first time in England Futsal history.

Jack and Ryan became the fifth in England’s historic 5-1 win over Switzerland, the first competitive victory in England Futsal’s history. The pair were both on the court for the second half of the game, helping the Three Lions see out the game for a massive three points. Ryan has appeared in all three of England’s qualifiers so far, even getting on the scoresheet in that game against Switzerland in December.

Jack has already represented England as the goalkeeper for the Partially Sighted team who came third in the recent IBSA European Championships. Ryan is assistant coach for the squad and is also the first time a brother has been coached by their brother for an England team.

The Neville brothers currently host the most combined caps for brothers to have played for England boasting 146 between them, Gary with 85 and Phil with 59. They also hold the record for the most starts in the same England team by two brothers with 31.

The Nevilles are followed closely by the Charlton’s as Sir Bobby (106) and Jack (35) earned a combined 141 appearances, with the pair playing 28 times together. With 106 appearances, Sir Bobby was the record appearance holder at the time of his retirement, he now sits seventh. He also scored 49 goals in that time which also made him the record holder at the time, although he has now been eclipsed by Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney.

William (2 apps) and Herbert (1 app) Rawson were the first brothers to play for England in the same match, as they drew 2-2 with Scotland at the Oval in 1875. While Frank (9 apps) and Fred (3 apps) Forman were the only other brothers to have played together making three appearances alongside each other in the 1899 British Home Championship.

Other brothers have represented England but only at youth level, including Peter and Bob Latchford who played for the U23’s in 1973-74. While a more recent example, is twin brothers Steven and Ryan Sessegnon, who made up England U21’s left-hand side in a 2-0 loss against Portugal at the 2021 U21 European Championships.

Brothers, Charles and William Clegg became the first brothers to win England caps when the pair picked up appearances in 1872 and 1873 respectively. Both brothers were knighted in their lifetime with Charles widely regarded as the first person to receive the honour for their services to football.

Another interesting brother link-up is Scott and Martin Sinclair, who in 2012 became the first brothers to represent Great Britain at a Paralympic and Olympic games in the same year. Scott took to the field with GB’s football team, making it to the Olympics quarterfinal, while Martin played for GB’s 7-a-side cerebral palsy side who eventually finished 7th.

Jack, Ryan and Harry will all take to the court on Friday 7th March as England Futsal will face off against Spain in Toledo, before heading home to Loughborough University to welcome Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday 11th March. The home match versus Bosnia will be live-streamed on YouTube via the England Futsal channel with coverage starting at 7:20pm.

The Three Lions currently sit 3rd in Group 8 on three points, following the win over Switzerland for their only points in the opening three games. The biggest game for the second round will be against Bosnia as if England want any chance of qualifying, they will need to take points off of the Golden Lillies.