Sunderland’s astonishing rise shown as they edge Newcastle in World Cup list | OneFootball

Sunderland’s astonishing rise is underlined by an eight-strong World Cup contingent.

According to Sunderland Echo, research indicates the Black Cats now have more players heading to the tournament than Newcastle United.

In 2021/22, ahead of Qatar 2022, Sunderland were in their fourth consecutive League One season. Bailey Wright was the only squad member to make it, appearing as a substitute for Australia in their final group game against Denmark.

This time the eight are Robin Roefs and Brian Brobbey for the Netherlands, Wilson Isidor for Haiti, Noah Sadiki for DR Congo, Granit Xhaka for Switzerland, Chemsdine Talbi for Morocco, Omar Aldarete for Paraguay and Habib Diarra for Senegal.

Granit Xhaka will be playing in his fourth World Cup. Only six players have reached five tournaments, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lothar Matthäus, Antonio Carbajal, Rafael Marquez and Andrés Guardado, three of them from Mexico. If Messi and Ronaldo feature this summer, both will be playing in their sixth.

In the cross-club table, Manchester City lead with 18 players, Arsenal have 15, Manchester United and Crystal Palace 12, Liverpool 11 and Aston Villa nine. Brighton and Sunderland are both on eight, while Newcastle, Tottenham and Chelsea each have seven.

Source: Sunderland Echo