Northern Ireland helped Hume adapt to top flight

Luxembourg vs. Northern Ireland: Fifa World Cup qualifier

Date: Thursday, September 4th, 2019 Kick-off: 19:45 BST

Trai Hume, a Sunderland defender, claims that his adaptation to the Premier League was helped by playing international football for Northern Ireland.

In January of this year, Hume, who was previously with Irish Premier League side Linfield, joined Sunderland from Linfield in January of that year. He has assisted in their return to the top flight.

He will lead Michael O’Neill’s side in their opening World Cup qualifiers in Luxembourg and Germany, two months after making his Northern Ireland debut.

The 23-year-old has played in all three of Sunderland’s opening Premier League games this season, getting used to the top players, that top level, and how focused you have to be all game for the entire 90 minutes, according to the 23-year-old.

“I’ve always wanted to test myself at the highest level, so this season has been a dream come true.

Hume was linked with leaving Sunderland after helping them advance through the play-offs to the Premier League, but he signed a new long-term deal in August.

Hume claimed that despite being aware of interest from English and European clubs, it was always his intention to strike a new deal.

The former Linfield defender claimed that she has loved every second of playing for the club since signing for the team in League One.

It makes you feel a little better for helping Sunderland move from League One to where we belong.

“Of course, you can sign for a Premier League club, and it’s the same thing, you’re still eligible to play there,” says the statement. “But it does add that extra bit of emotion that you’ve done it the entire way through.”

Germany take on Germany in Cologne on Sunday before Northern Ireland kick off their World Cup qualifying campaign in Luxembourg on Thursday.

Manager Michael O’Neill flipped the captaincy throughout the Nations League campaign last year and the friendlies to begin 2025, and he now wears Hume’s armband for the double-header in September.

Hume said, “I’m really proud and happy to do it, but I’ve always said that the armband doesn’t really change much for me,” according to Hume.

I’ll obviously do my best to assist my teammates and accomplish the task at hand.

After scoring two goals up in November, Northern Ireland was beaten 0-0 by Luxembourg in the Nations League finals, which was still sufficient to earn League C promotion.

Despite the hosts being the lowest-ranked team in Group A, which also includes Slovakia, Hume claims recent experience indicates it will be “a tough game.”

We have played them twice recently in the Nations League, and we are aware that it won’t be simple.