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17 November 2021

Gallagher, Ugbo, Ramsdale... The Maurice Revello Tournament graduates burst onto the international scene

Each international break is the opportunity for several players who took part in the Maurice Revello Tournament to make their international debut. Over the last days, some of them earned their first international cap.

Conor Gallagher & Aaron Ramsdale (England)

The 10-0 England's win over San Marino in the final round of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers secured their ticket to the next World Cup. Gareth Southgate decided to launch several young players on the international scene, including two players who have been through the Maurice Revello Tournament : Aaron Ramsdale, the Arsenal goalkeeper, and Conor Gallagher, the Crystal Palace midfielder on loan from Chelsea. The first played the whole game while the latter came on at half-time. A fitting reward for two players currently shining in the Premier League!

Will Keane (Ireland)

This story is a special one. In 2014, the twin brothers Michael and Will Keane played in the Maurice Revello Tournament for England. A few years later, at senior level, Michael kept representing England on the international stage (12 caps, 1 goal with the Three Lions) while his brother Will turned to Ireland.
"My father is Irish, he was born in Sligo and grew up there as an orphan. He went to boarding school, was adopted and went to England. Unfortunately, my father lost touch with his roots for obvious reasons but to be able to reconnect with them by having the opportunity myself to represent Ireland is a huge honour," said the Wigan striker in a press conference.
Will Keane made his international debut for Ireland against Portugal (0-0) in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

Anthony Ralston (Scotland)

The 23-year-old right-back has made an impressive start of the season with Celtic and earned his first cap for Scotland in the 2-0 win over Denmark in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

Ike Ugbo (Canada)

Born in London to a Nigerian father and having spent several years of his childhood in Canada, the 23-year-old had the opportunity to represent three nations at international level : England, Nigeria and Canada.
Ugbo, who won the Maurice Revello Tournament 2017 with England, had apparently made up his mind last September about which nation to represent at the highest level : "I chose Nigeria," he told Sport Voetbal Magazine in an interview. It was therefore a huge surprise when the Canadian Football Association announced the Genk striker's arrival in the national team at the beginning of November.
But Ugbo made his international debut for the Canadian national team during the 1-0 win against Costa Rica in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

Helder Costa (Angola)

By scoring for Angola against Egypt (2-2) in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers, the Valencia winger achieved a very rare display : he became, after Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina, Spain) and Jose Alfatini (Brazil, Italy), the third player in the history of football to have scored on his debut with... two national teams !

Indeed, Helder Costa has one cap for the Portuguese national team, earned in 2018 against Scotland (3-1), during which he found the net. However, the Luanda native has taken advantage of FIFA's relaxation of the rules on changing sporting nationality to represent Angola : players who have played less than three games with their first national team are allowed to change sporting nationality.

Steve Ambri (Guinea-Bissau)

The 24-year-old striker, who shone during the Maurice Revello Tournament 2018 with France, has decided to continue his international career at senior level with Guinea-Bissau. The Sochaux player earned his first cap in the 0-0 draw with Guinea in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.      

Ulrick Eneme Ella (Gabon)

In 2019, the 20-year-old striker played in the Maurice Revello Tournament with France. Two years later, the young Brighton player has chosen to play for Gabon at senior level. Eneme Ella took advantage of the international break to make his debut for the Panthers during the game between Egypt and Gabon (2-1).