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I competed against the three new England stars, including the future son-in-law of Roy Keane, but I stopped at 22 to become a practitioner.

I competed against the three new England stars, including the future son-in-law of Roy Keane, but I stopped at 22 to become a practitioner.

The new England star detailed the advice Roy Keane gave him – but one of his old rivals didn’t need it career advice.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who is engaged to Keane’s daughter Leah, is following a very different path to a player he faced in his youth.

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Silvan Wallner gave up his football career because of his religionCredit: Getty

The Southampton defender received his first senior England call-up to reunite with caretaker manager Lee Carsley.

The 22-year-old, who captained the Under-21s to Euro glory last year, also knows several of his new Three Lions teammates.

Harwood-Bellis was part of the England Under-17 squad, overseen by current Leicester manager Steve Cooper, alongside fellow Premier League stars Morgan Rogers, Tino Livramento, Noni Madueke and James Trafford of Burnley.

The quintet, all of whom are part of Carsley’s current squad, featured in a 5-2 win over Switzerland in March 2019.

England’s five stars, of whom only Madueke has played at senior international level so far, might be surprised to learn that one of the Swiss players from that matchday retired last weekend.

Not because of an injury. Silvan Wallner quit football at just 22 because it stopped him from going to church every Saturday.

The defender, who helped local club FC Zurich win the Swiss league title two years ago, announced his retirement on Sunday.

Wallner only signed a two-year contract with Austrian Bundesliga club Blau-Weiss Linz in September and made five appearances.

However, his club confirmed his retirement hours after a famous 2-0 win over Red Bull Salzburg.

Salzburg, managed by Jurgen Klopp’s former assistant Pep Lijnders, also had Stefan Bajcetic on loan from Liverpool in their ranks – whose former Reds teammate Harvey Elliott started England’s win over Switzerland for which Wallner was an unused substitute.

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Rogers scored twice for England U17s against Wallner’s young Swiss sideCredit: Getty

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Harwood-Bellis – who also started this match – earned his first senior call-up

Wallner has confirmed he has ended his deal with Blau-Weiss Linz by mutual consent after placing his trust above elite football.

The former footballer is a believer in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which observes Saturday and not Sunday as a day of rest.

He told the club’s website: “First of all, I would like to thank the managers, the staff and the entire team at Blau-Weiss Linz.

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“I would also like to say a big thank you to everyone who has accompanied and supported me in my sporting career so far.

“I am a devout Christian and I read the Bible.

“I make my own decisions in life. I am also not yet a member of a church.

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Wallner made just five appearances for LinzCredit: Getty

“I want to follow Jesus Christ and the biblical day of rest has become important to me.

“For me, as a professional, this means that from now on I no longer want to play football for a living on Saturdays.

“This is my personal conviction that I have come to in recent days.”