Sadly, the Irish women’s football team looked a little disjointed in their defeat to Wales on Tuesday night, but they were at least singing from the same hymn sheet immediately before kick-off.

Linked together arm in arm, all 11 starters – five of whom were born and raised in foreign lands – belted out Amhrán na bhFiann in unison and with great gusto. It was clear from their passionate rendition and the expressions on their faces that they were delighted to be there representing Ireland on the international stage.

This shouldn’t really be noteworthy. After all, singing the anthem is standard practice for international football teams all over the world.

However, one notable exception to the rule is the Irish men’s team. Some members of the current squad do not sing The Soldier’s Song, instead remaining straight-faced and silent while their teammates and supporters join in. As a fan, I have to say it’s not something I like to see.

It should go without saying but this is obviously nothing like American football players kneeling during The Star-Spangled Banner or a person from the UK choosing not to sing God Save the King. If someone refuses to acknowledge their country’s anthem due to their personal or political beliefs or to highlight a societal issue, more power to them. I think that’s admirable and should be respected.

But that’s not what’s going on with the Irish soccer team. Certain players are simply not participating, perhaps because they don’t know the words in the case of the England-born lads, or because they’re choosing not to sing in the case of the native Irish lads.

Being too patriotic can be a bad thing in the real world, especially if it bleeds into nationalism, but what is international football if not a stage for patriotism? We have our guys. You have your guys. Send them over here and we’ll see who’s best. It’s an exercise in flag waving and showing the world how proud you are of your team and, ultimately, the place you come from.

The whole thing is a show and the anthems are probably the most visceral and emotive part of the pageantry. Frankly, I find it a bit weird that some of the players are opting out. If nothing else, taking part would be a really easy PR win. In fact, if I was an adviser to the manager Heimir Hallgrímsson I’d pull him aside and say, “Come here, do you know what the fans would love…”

If he doesn’t want to learn it, fair enough. He’s Icelandic, not Irish, and, unlike the English media, I wouldn’t consider it an act of treason if he declined. (Good luck to England's new German manager Thomas Tuchel, by the way. He will be doing well to get out of there uncrucified.)

Everyone in Heimir’s squad is Irish, though, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask for the Ireland-born players to sing the anthem, or for the England-born players to learn 11 lines of a song, even if the language is foreign to them. We’re not asking them to master the modh coinníollach. A child can learn Amhrán na bhFiann having little or no command of Irish – we all did it. And so did Courtney Brosnan (born and raised in the USA), Caitlin Hayes (England), Anna Patten (England), Ruesha Littlejohn (Scotland) and Kyra Carusa (USA).

I’m sure the boys who don’t sing the anthem are all proud Irishmen beneath their cold, emotionless glares. I just think it would be no harm if they expressed that pride through the medium of song like the rest of us.