Pierce Charles has a birthday cake ready for Shea, but the bigger story is how the brothers have settled into life in London and into the centre of Northern Ireland's current run. Pierce is spending the season on loan at QPR from Manchester City, while Shea joined Fulham from Southampton in a £30m move in August.
London life for the Charles brothers
Pierce says the move has gone better than he expected. "It's better than I thought it was going to be, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it," he told BBC Sport. Shea was just as positive about the arrangement. "I actually love it, and living together has been good. There's so much to do in London," he said.
The family side of it still sounds like family. The brothers have lived together three times, and the interview was built around Shea's 23rd birthday at home. Their mother Mary joked about the mess, while Shea and Pierce traded stories about chores, video games and who was best as kids in the garden.
Northern Ireland's unbeaten start
The football part is serious. Michael O'Neill's side are top of Group B2 in the Nations League after four matches and have yet to concede a goal. Pierce has started all four of those games, and his 7.29 average rating sits alongside that run.
He has also chipped in at the other end, with one goal involvement in those four appearances. That is a decent return for a goalkeeper and it underlines why he has become part of O'Neill's first-choice group rather than just a novelty in the squad.
Shea's move to Fulham adds another layer to the story. A £30m transfer is a big step for any player, and it puts more attention on his club form as the brothers continue to build their names in west London. Northern Ireland's clean sheet record still stands after four games, and Pierce's role in that run is now fixed in the numbers.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
