The Chelsea kid, Rice and Spurs' new star - players who changed international teams

Ivory Coast play England for the first time, with a number of familiar faces to appear for the visitors in the friendly, too.

Eric Bailly, Jean Michael Seri and Nicolas Pepe could also feature at Wembley on 29 March.

Crystal Palace star Zaha, 29, is not the only high-profile player to change international allegiances, though, and here, talkSPORT.com looks at others beginning with the Eagles flyer.

Wilfried Zaha (England to Ivory Coast)

Crystal Palace star Zaha, opted to play for the two-time Africa Cup of Nations in 2016, despite making two friendly appearances for the Three Lions in 2012 and 2013, against Sweden and Scotland respectively.

Speaking to talkSPORT in 2020, former Eagles teammate Andros Townsend believed he should have waited.

"With hindsight, yeah. He'd be playing in that England team now but at the time Gareth [Southgate] had ignored him for a good few squads. Three or four squads and I think Wilf had had enough.

"If he'd waited probably a month or two, he really took off at Palace and he would have been straight in that England squad."

Jack Grealish (Republic of Ireland to England)

Grealish was part of the Ireland youth set up from 2011 to 2014, but pledged his allegiance to England in 2016 after being named their U-21 player of the year in 2015.

Whilst it took four years to make his senior debut, the former Aston Villa captain said he had no regrets over making the switch.

"As I got older, I started playing obviously at Villa, in the first-team, I broke through," he said in June 2021 prior to the European Championship.

"And there was a time when I thought: 'obviously I am English, my parents were born in England, I was obviously born in England, so I feel English'.

"So yes, I obviously changed to England and since then I never looked back. I've enjoyed every moment that I've had here. And I wouldn't be here today if I didn't."

Clearly he made the right choice, as Grealish is now a regular feature in Gareth Southgate's squad.

He's earned 18 caps for the Three Lions, and played a pivotal role in their run to the final of Euro 2020 having featured in five of the seven games, including the final against Italy, and provided assists in matches against Germany and the Czech Republic.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (France to Gabon)

Although though he was born in France to a Spanish mother, the Barcelona star opted to snub both nations to represent Gabon.

And despite making one appearance at youth level for Les Bleus, Aubameyang wanted to play for the African nation because of his father.

Speaking to Arsenal in 2018, the 32-year-old said: "I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps.

"He was captain of the national side in the past, I could well have chosen to play for France or Spain.

"I played for the French under-21 team, but I realised very quickly that in my heart I wanted to emulate my father."

Declan Rice (Republic of Ireland to England)

Rice received three caps for Ireland, playing against Turkey, France and the US in 2018 before eventually switching to the Three Lions in March 2019.

Whilst the West Ham vice-captain took longer than Grealish to decide, the 2018 World Cup was a key factor in his verdict, even though he wasn't part of that England squad that reached the semi-final.

"Honestly, the World Cup was buzzing… I was actually in Dubai," he told reporters in 2021.

There was a massive football fan zone with a massive dome and it was crazy. It was mental.

"I remember watching the Panama game, the Tunisia game, the Sweden game. It was incredible.

"The singing before the game, the national anthem. Just being a part of it. I was a fan for that tournament. So, to be part of this tournament is unbelievable."

Similarly to Grealish, Rice made an excellent call in choosing to represent the former World Cup winners.

Over Euro 2020, there wasn't a single game where Rice was not in the starting 11 as he bossed the midfield from the first kick to the last.

Diego Costa (Brazil to Spain)

The former Chelsea striker, despite being born in Brazil, and receiving two caps for the five-time World Cup winners, opted to play for Spain instead in 2014.

He was able to do so after being given a Spanish passport having resided in the country for more than five years, and not surpassing FIFA's allocation that a player can receive up to three caps by a country before pledging allegiance.

What made the switch so contentious was because of the comments from former Brazil manager Luiz Felipe Scolari and the Brazilian Football Federation's (CBF) request to have his citizenship removed.

In 2013, the former Chelsea manager said: "A Brazilian player who rejects the chance to wear the Brazil shirt and play at a World Cup in his country can only be automatically withdrawn from the squad.

"He's turning his back on something millions dream of doing: playing for the five-time world champions at a World Cup in Brazil."

CBF's juridic director Carlos Eugenio Lopes said his switch was fuelled by 'financial' reasons.

"It's obvious that the reason he made that choice was financial," Lopes told O Globo.

"The chairman [Jose Maria Marin] authorised me to open a legal action at the Justice Ministry requesting that he loses his Brazilian citizenship, which Diego Costa has rejected.

"I have no doubt that he was allured. He suffered two hours of peer pressure from the Spanish on Monday night and another two hours on Tuesday morning."

Jamal Musiala (England to Germany)

Produced in Chelsea's academy, the 19-year-old is now representing Germany and playing for Bayern Munich.

It could be a major blow for the Three Lions, and one that was a tough decision for him.

"I have a heart for Germany and a heart for England. Both hearts will continue to beat. I've thought a lot about this question," Musiala told German sports programme Sportschau.

"In the end, I listened to my feelings saying it's the right decision to play for Germany. But it wasn't an easy decision for me."

Dejan Kulusevski (Macedonia to Sweden)

He's Tottenham's man of the moment right now and played and handful of times for Macedonia's U17 side.

However, he was born in Sweden, though Kulusevski's mother, Katica, was born and raised in North Macedonia, moving to Sweden as an adult.

"For me and my family, Macedonia is very important," he explained.

"Like my mum says, we will never forget where we come from. I go there every summer and I love it. I've always said that if I could play for Sweden and Macedonia I would. But I had to choose and I chose Sweden because I am from there."