Sunderland international round-up: World Cup heartbreak for duo as Ellborg edges closer | OneFootball

It was mixed fortunes for Sunderland’s internationals, with Northern Ireland’s 2-0 play-off loss in Italy ending Trai Hume and Dan Ballard’s World Cup hopes, while Melker Ellborg moved a step closer with Sweden.

According to Sunderland Echo, several Black Cats were involved across qualifiers and friendlies.

Northern Ireland reached the play-offs via the Uefa Nations League, topping League C Group 3 with 11 points ahead of Bulgaria, Belarus and Luxembourg. That earned a one-off in Bergamo against an Italy side that trailed Norway in qualifying after 3-0 and 4-1 defeats to Erling Haaland and team-mates. The hosts won 2-0 with second-half goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean.

Hume captained Michael O’Neill’s team and completed 90 minutes, earning a team-high 7.3 from FotMob and producing a goal-line clearance. Ballard missed out through injury, compounding the pair’s disappointment.

Ellborg, signed from Malmo in January to back up Robin Roefs, has already featured four times for Sunderland due to Roefs’ injury. He appeared in wins over Leeds United and rivals Newcastle United, with defeats to Brighton and Port Vale in the FA Cup between.

He was an unused substitute as Sweden beat Ukraine 3-1, with Arsenal striker Viktor Gyokeres making it 3-0 by the 73rd minute before Matviy Ponomarenko’s late consolation. Sweden face Poland in Solna on Tuesday, the winner to book a World Cup place.

Noah Sadiki was part of the DR Congo squad that beat Bermuda in a friendly in Mexico on Wednesday. Chris Rigg played the final 20 minutes as England lost 2-0 to Serbia in a U19 UEFA European Championship qualifier. Milan Aleksic started as Serbia U21s drew 2-2 with Kyrgyzstan U23s on Thursday.

Source: Sunderland Echo