Despite playing for the Republic of Ireland under-21 side earlier this year, Derby County’s Conor Doyle has committed his international future to the USA national team.

Doyle, who was born in Texas qualified for Ireland through his Dublin-born father, and in February featured in Noel King’s Irish side who played Cyprus. Despite that solitary appearance, Doyle chose to return to the USA set-up, in the hopes of making the step-up to the USMNT in the near future. Doyle played a key part in America’s Under-20 World Cup qualifying campaign, scoring four times in six appearances, but this was not enough to secure a place at the finals.

“It was a tough call in the end to make a decision which country I would have to turn down but I took my time and viewed both set-ups, which was good for me,” said Doyle. “In the end, it felt like the right decision to stick with the US but it was an honour to be called up by the Republic of Ireland and I’ll always follow their progress.

“I’ve enjoyed the experiences the US has provided me so far. I’ve played well with them, got a couple of goals and a couple of assists too.It hurt not qualifying for the under-20 World Cup this summer but, as a team, we are now focused on the Olympics in 2012.”

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3. Michael Doyle joins Sheffield United
4. Kevin Doyle withdraws from squad ahead of Slovakia match
5. Kevin Doyle out for between 4-8 weeks