Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
Sport
Matty Hewitt

Sunderland international round-up: Wright on song for Australia but Stewart waits Scotland debut

The majority of Sunderland players are on holiday after their promotion winning campaign, but for a select few the season is still ongoing. Bailey Wright, Ross Stewart and Trai Hume have been called up for their respective countries and have been in action this week.

But how have they fared? Chronicle Live has taken a look at the international games this week and compiled a round-up on how the Black Cats have fared.

Here's a look at the latest international round-up:

GO HERE: Have your say on Sunderland ownership, transfers, Alex Neil and more in our BIG post-season survey

Bailey Wright

Wright's Sunderland future remains up the air despite the club offering him new terms. The centre-back is clearly not deterred by ongoing negotiations as he equalised against Jordan in the Socceroos friendly.

The Black Cats defender played the full 90 minutes as Australia completed a second-half turnaround to set themselves up nicely ahead of their World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates. Wright's display means he's put himself in a good position to start that fixture, having been in and out of the squad for the qualifying process.

Speaking to the Syndey Morning Herald, Socceroos boss Graham Arnold said: “Still a lot of work to do. What we have been driving since we got into camp is reaction when we lose the ball. I have been disappointed over the campaign about the mentality of that.

“We have been working on it, I was happy tonight with the work-rate, the chasing back and the fighting for the ball and the second balls. We probably could not have had a better game to play. Jordan are a good side ... they put us under pressure and that’s the perfect game that you want.

“I think that’s the first time we have come back since I have been in charge. We have gone down 1-0 and come back ... in the past few games when we have gone down 1-0 or something has happened we have fallen apart, and tonight that wasn’t the case.”

Trai Hume

The Sunderland youngster has found it hard to break into Alex Neil's side since joining from Linfield in January, but has been a regular in Ian Baraclough's Northern Ireland squad. Hume arrived from David Healy's Blues a few weeks prior to Neil's arrival, playing 17 games in the Danske Bank Premiership.

Linfield would win the title by one point, pipping Cliftonville to top spot. Hume was given his league winners medal at Northern Ireland training earlier this week.

The 20-year-old was a second-half substitute, replacing Paddy Lane at left-back as Greece ran out 1-0 winners. Managed by former Sunderland boss Gus Poyet, the visitors took the lead through Anastasios Bakasetas first half strike and held on for the win.

Ross Stewart

The wait goes on for Ross Stewart to make his international debut after being named on the bench in Scotland's World Cup play-off defeat to Ukraine. It ends the home nations' quest for a place at Qatar 2022 this winter but the Sunderland striker may still get a taste of the action in their upcoming Nations League games.

Steve Clarke's side were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Ukraine as they secured a play-off final spot against Wales which is set to be played in three days time. Scotland on the other hand, have a double header against Armenia in the next fortnight, with a game against the Republic of Ireland sandwiched in between.

Stewart has been called up for the last two Scotland squads but has yet to play any minutes. The Nations League fixtures will give Clarke a chance to see what other options he has available, with Euro 2024 the next qualifying campaign.

You can read more here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.