Sunderland internationals suffer World Cup blow as Melker Ellborg moves closer | OneFootball

Northern Ireland’s 2-0 play-off semi-final defeat to Italy ended Trai Hume and Dan Ballard’s World Cup hopes, while Melker Ellborg edged nearer with Sweden after a 3-1 win over Ukraine.

According to Sunderland Echo, Northern Ireland reached the play-offs via their Nations League route. They topped League C Group three with 11 points, ahead of Bulgaria, Belarus and Luxembourg, setting up a one-off in Bergamo against an Italy side that finished second to Norway.

Captain Hume completed the full 90 minutes on the right of a back three and earned a team-high 7.3 FotMob rating. His night included a goal-line clearance and assured work out of possession.

It was not enough as second-half strikes from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean sent Italy through. Ballard missed out through injury, meaning the Sunderland pair will not feature at this summer’s World Cup in North America.

Ellborg, signed from Malmo in January to understudy Robin Roefs, has already made four Sunderland appearances due to Roefs’ injury, including a clean sheet at Leeds.

He was an unused substitute as Sweden beat Ukraine 3-1, Viktor Gyokeres made it 3-0 by the 73rd minute before a late consolation. Sweden face Poland in Solna on Tuesday for a World Cup place. Elsewhere, Noah Sadiki featured in DR Congo’s win over Bermuda, Chris Rigg appeared in England U19s’ 2-0 loss to Serbia, and Milan Aleksic started in Serbia U21s’ 2-2 draw with Kyrgyzstan U23s.

Source: Sunderland Echo