{"id":31522,"date":"2026-04-25T06:53:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T06:53:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/25\/kai-rooney-and-j-j-gabriel-face-the-same-problem-after-man-uniteds-breakthrough-soccer-sports\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T06:53:32","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T06:53:32","slug":"kai-rooney-and-j-j-gabriel-face-the-same-problem-after-man-uniteds-breakthrough-soccer-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eplvip.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/25\/kai-rooney-and-j-j-gabriel-face-the-same-problem-after-man-uniteds-breakthrough-soccer-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Kai Rooney and J.J. Gabriel face the same problem after Man United&#8217;s breakthrough | Soccer | Sports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6883490.jpg?r=1777056960647\" alt=\"Manchester United's Kai Rooney\" title=\"Manchester United's Kai Rooney\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">Kai Rooney aims to break into the first team at Manchester United <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty Images)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Manchester United prospects Kai Rooney and J.J. Gabriel are both determined to establish themselves in the first team, but could face a similar dilemma at international level. The pair have gained considerable recognition this season through their performances with United&#8217;s Under-18s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Rooney, 16, aims to emulate his father Wayne, who remains United&#8217;s all-time leading goalscorer. The teenager made encouraging progress, scoring two goals in seven appearances for Darren Fletcher&#8217;s side, and made his first appearance at Old Trafford in January.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>His parents proudly watched their eldest son play in the FA Youth Cup against Derby County and were also present as Kai assisted the Under-16s in winning the Premier League Shield. Unfortunately, United&#8217;s promising player suffered a season-ending injury last month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Express sports on FB! Get all the best sports news and more on our Facebook page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Left winger Gabriel is expected to be included in the club&#8217;s pre-season preparations despite being just 15 years old after helping the Under-18s reach the FA Youth Cup final.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Both Rooney and Gabriel are looking to make an impression at United, but their senior achievements could lead to difficult choices on the international stage. Rooney is also eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland, although his father was previously England&#8217;s record scorer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Kai&#8217;s parents are of Irish descent and the United academy star could play for his country, but Kai&#8217;s mother Coleen recently opened up about the possibility of her children not representing England.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;Obviously, they&#8217;re still very young,&#8221; she said on a recent appearance on &#8220;The Late Late Show.&#8221; &#8220;We&#8217;re not there yet but they&#8217;ll be proud to play for Ireland, yeah. But I don&#8217;t know, they don&#8217;t know either. Let them decide.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Unlike Gabriel, who has two England Under-17 caps, Kai is yet to feature for any of England&#8217;s generational teams. Gabriel is also eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland, with several other options available.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Gabriel&#8217;s father is former defender Joe O&#8217;Kearyle, who played twice for Ireland in 2007. Gabriel has a Cypriot mother and could represent Trinidad and Tobago through his grandfather.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"photo changeSpace\">\n<p class=\"withoutCaption\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/67\/590x\/secondary\/6883493.jpg?r=1777056964825\" alt=\"Manchester United's JJ Gabriel\" title=\"Manchester United's JJ Gabriel\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"newsCaption\">JJ Gabriel recently scored in Manchester United&#8217;s FA Youth Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace. <span class=\"caption\">(Image: Getty Images)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>There is great excitement about this young man&#8217;s potential. However, United manager Michael Carrick insisted the club are in no rush to progress his development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;JJ is a tremendous talent. We obviously care a lot about him, but patience is key in managing everything that comes with that and working with him on development,&#8221; Carrick said in a March speech.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>Meanwhile, Kai is determined to return to full fitness and establish himself as a key member of United&#8217;s academy side before drawing any conclusions about his international future. However, it was not a decision that his father, Wayne, had considered during his playing days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;I never thought about playing for Ireland,&#8221; Rooney Senior said in 2015. &#8220;I was born in England and I&#8217;m British.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;Lee Carsley, who replaced Mick McCarthy, asked me about it when I was at Everton, but it never crossed my mind. I have Irish grandparents so if they wanted to play for Ireland, they could play for Ireland, but it had never occurred to me.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-description\">\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m English at heart and have no qualms about beating Ireland. I&#8217;m playing for England and I want to help England win.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"whatsapp-group \">        Join us on WhatsApp for the latest Man United news<\/p>\n<p class=\"wapp-inf\">Our community members may receive special offers, promotions, and advertising from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our privacy policy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/sport\/football\/2198233\/Man-Utd-news-Kai-Rooney-JJ-Gabriel\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kai Rooney aims to break into the first team at Manchester United (Image: Getty Images) Manchester United prospects Kai Rooney and J.J. Gabriel are both determined to establish themselves in the first team, but could face a similar dilemma at international level. The pair have gained considerable recognition this season through their performances with United&#8217;s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-31522","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-matches"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Kai Rooney and J.J. 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