Thiago Silva’s Son, Iago Silva, Makes England Under-15s Debut

Iago Silva, the 14-year-old son of Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain hero Thiago Silva, has made a huge step in his quest to emulate his father’s career. On Tuesday, the youngster vindicated his impressive form at club level and played in his first international match for England Under-15s.

A living legend among Stamford Bridge circles, Thiago moved to Chelsea after an eight-year stint in the French capital in the summer of 2020 – and it didn’t take long for the seasoned defender to win over the supporters with his consistency in the heart of their back line. He left four years later with a Champions League to his name.

Although he is no longer associated with the capital club, Thiago is always keeping a close eye on how all teams perform – and that includes the academy sides. At the time of writing, the 41-year-old actually has two sons playing in the Chelsea academy and his oldest, Iago, has seen his talent spotted by England chiefs.

Thiago Silva’s Son, Iago, Plays for England U-15s After Impressing for Chelsea

Of course, Thiago – at the peak of his powers – represented Brazil given he was born and raised in Rio de Janerio and began his club career at RS Futebol before moving to Juventude in January 2004. He earned his Brazil stripes in 2008 under Dunga, and he played his final game for his country, in 2022, against Croatia.

Iago, alongside his older brother, joined Chelsea’s youth ranks when their father made the move to Stamford Bridge in 2020. Despite Thiago departing and returning to his homeland to play for Fluminense in 2024, they have remained in west London in the hopes they are able to break into senior proceedings.

He can operate either in the middle of the defence or at left-back and his steady rise through the age ranks at Stamford Bridge just proves that he could be one to watch in the future. Josh Acheampong and Levi Colwill are perfect examples of defenders graduating from the academy and becoming crucial in senior settings.

But instead of representing the same nation as his father, Iago has gone down a completely different route with the dream of playing for the Three Lions in the future. The 14-year-old defender, who is also eligible for Brazil, kickstarted his Young Lions career by starting in Matt Thorpe’s under-15 side match against Cyprus.

The match represented the first of two for England during a training camp in Cyprus. They went on to keep a clean sheet as they claimed a 3-0 victory against their hosts. England followed up the victory by coming from behind to beat the USA 4-3 on Saturday.

Why Silva’s Son is Eligible for England Call-Up

The reason why Iago is able to play for England is because footballers can become eligible for nations they were not born in through residency. To date, he has lived in England for five years.

Of course, this does mean that plying his trade for Brazil is not off the cards in the future. With playing for France also an option because he has lived there for in excess of the five-year criteria, there is always the chance to switch allegiances in a few years’ time.

This is not the first bit of excellent news for the Silva family in the last 12 months as, over the summer, it was announced the older brother, Isago, was included in Chelsea’s list of scholars for the 2025/26 campaign. Chelsea’s academy, Cobham, is widely regarded as one of the best in world football – and both Iago and Isago are considered to be two promising products.

All statistics per Transfermarkt – correct as of 16/02/2026