... as it'll creep up on us and have an effect in various ways so we may as well get used to it. (Please add to this or correct anything.) The Africa Cup of Nations is taking place in Morocco between 21st December, 2025 and 18th January, 2026 The first thing that strikes me is how the club will prepare those players who'll come in for those going to AFCON. They'll need to be ready, which means the players they'll replace can't have 'all the minutes' beforehand. Those who get to the final, of the AFCON, could miss 7 or 8 Sunderland games, which is a huge chunk of the season. Who'll be available and who will come in ... ... Neil, Mundle, O'Nien, Cirkin, Alese, etc?
It's a bu**er mind this thing. Real opportunity for Neil I think, but is he commited? I'd really like to see Mundle back. If that lad gets fit and stays fit there is a serious player there. Hopefully they all come back early and not crocked!
Googling around, because afcon continues into 2026, same year as the world cup then we have the option to refuse to release them (only have to release players for one international tournament per year). That'd go down well.
I automatically expect Sunderland players to prefer to play for Sunderland ... ... so it's quite a shock when you see the likes of Hume happy to miss games to play for their country
