Aston Villa defender Matty Cash granted Polish citizenship

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Aston Villa defender Matty Cash has received Polish citizenship and is available to play for the national team starting with its World Cup qualifying matches in November. The 24-year-old right back was born in England but is eligible to play for Poland through his grandfather. His mother was born in Poland. Cash has been in discussions with the Polish soccer federation since 2019 when he played for Nottingham Forest. He joined Villa last year and has been a regular at right back. Poland is in second place in its World Cup qualifying group and is three points behind England. Poland plays Andorra and Hungary in its final qualifiers.