https://www.a-love-supreme.com/single-post/international-roundup-2 BY BEN HARDIE INTERNATIONAL ROUNDUP please log in to view this image Including junior and senior squads, there were nine Sunderland players called up to represent their country over the most recent international break. Here's how our lads performed on the international stage. TREY OGUNSUYI Ogunsuyi was once again called up to represent Belgium’s U18 side, this time for two games. The first was against England U18s, in a game that also featured Tom Watson and Chris Rigg. The game finished 1-1 (Belgium won on penalties) and Ogunsuyi remained amongst the substitutes throughout. The second game, this time against South Korea U18s, was much more exciting however. Ogunsuyi also began the game on the bench but came on with 20 minutes to go with South Korea leading 3-2. In stoppage time he found the net to ensure the game ended level at 3-3 - the young Red Devils won it through penalties, so they can thank Trey for his last minute equaliser. Ogunsuyi looks to be a real talent, and even more proof that the AoL is continuing to produce wonderful young players that will hopefully one day make the senior team. CHRIS RIGG please log in to view this image England U18s faced three opponents this international break. As mentioned before, Belgium was the first, then Morocco and finally South Korea. Rigg captained the young Three Lions in the first game and then came off the bench in the game against Morocco (England triumphed 1-0). He remained on the bench for the final fixture. Once again captaining an England youth side is another item to add to a growing list of impressive achievements for the youngster, his value must be sky rocketing. Let’s hope we can keep a hold of Chris until he is able to sign a professional contract. TOM WATSON Tom Watson joined Rigg in the starting XI for the game against Belgium and was unfortunately the recipient of a straight red card in the final minutes of the game. Clearly that didn’t change his prospects however, as he was then once again selected to start for the U18s against Morocco. He also remained on the bench for the final fixture. Similarly to Rigg he looks to be a player with enormous potential but compared to Rigg, Tom seems to have flown slightly under the radar. Perhaps that is a good thing for us to be able to keep a hold of him... JOBE BELLINGHAM Bellingham was also called for an England team, the U19s. They also had three games this window, with games against Montenegro, Wales and Austria in the qualification tournament for the U19 Euros. Bellingham started and played the full 90 minutes against Montenegro, also receiving a yellow card and he came on off the bench against Wales just after the break, the games finishing 0-0 and 1-1 respectively. The main news surrounding Bellingham weren’t his exploits on the pitch but rather the news that Real Madrid reportedly sent scouts out to watch him play. Add to this a series of promising highlight reels that were widely circulated on social media and it looks like the Bellingham family have another highly promising youngster who could potentially play for some of Europe’s biggest clubs in the future. Bellingham rounded off his time representing England with a full 90 minutes played in a 0-0 draw with Austria, whilst also receiving a yellow card in the process. MASON BURSTOW The fourth and final SAFC player to represent an England youth side this window (this time for the U20s), Burstow was selected to represent England in the first two games of the U20 Elite League, against Romania and Portugal. Burstow started against Romania and was subbed off after 61 minutes as the U20s unfortunately sank to a 2-0 defeat. He came on in the 66th minute of the final game off the bench, a 2-1 defeat to Portugal. It doesn’t sound like Burstow had the greatest time over the break - at least results-wise. Since it’s hard to find video highlights for youth games we can’t really comment on how he performed as an individual. JEWISON BENNETTE Bennette was called up to Costa Rica’s U23 side (owing to the fact the senior team had no games this break) for a double header against Colombia. He was in the starting XI in the first game (that finished 2-2) and was subbed off after 74 minutes. In the second game Jewison once again started, this time around playing 71 minutes in a 3-2 win. Since he’s not played very often this campaign for Sunderland, hopefully these two starts will help with his fitness levels. NAZARIY RUSYN The first player to be called up for a senior national side on this list, Rusyn was selected for Ukraine due to an injury to Andriy Yarmolenko. Nazariy made no appearance in the match day squad for Ukraine’s first Euro qualifier of the break, a 2-0 victory over North Macedonia but he did appear on the bench for their second game away to Malta. It is slightly disappointing he didn’t earn his first cap for Ukraine, but his time will come eventually. DAN BALLARD Ballard started against San Marino at Windsor Park, Ballard helped his team to a clean sheet in a 3-0 win. As well as the clean sheet, Ballard wore his country's captains armband when Jonny Evans was subbed off for the last half an hour. Unfortunately he picked up a knock that saw him miss out the final game of the window. Let’s hope it’s nothing too serious, especially given how much we missed him when he was out last season. TRAI HUME Finally we come to Trai Hume, he started alongside Ballard for Northern Ireland’s 3-0 win over San Marino also contributing to that clean sheet. He then started against Slovenia, unfortunately the Green and White army slumped to a 1-0 defeat. According to Northern Ireland fans on social media he was one of the few bright sparks in that latter game, and was named their Man of the Match.
