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3 Sunderland Stars Shine With Their National Teams Before Premier League Return

Originally posted on Sunderland on SI
By Oscar Daniel Cortes Rincon | Last updated Sep 10, 2025 3:30 PM ET

An important moment of the season for Sunderland. While they continue with a great start in the Premier League, several players enjoyed a great rest, and many of the Black Cats worked with much more intensity.

We were able to see several figures of Regis Le Bris’ team competing at the highest level with their national teams, and we saw how these three players performed positively in their matches during the international break.

3 Sunderland players who stood out representing their national teams

We saw Bertrand Traore representing Burkina Faso, Eliezer Mayenda representing Spain U-21 and Chris Rick representing England U-19.

The great talent of these players has led them to be called up either for their senior or youth national teams, and without a doubt, Chris Rigg’s performance was phenomenal, as he was the captain of England U-19 in a decisive 4-1 victory against the Netherlands.

The Sunderland midfielder stood out for his deep involvement in the match, distributing play and supporting the team’s defense.

Diarra features in comeback win
Traoré leads line for Burkina Faso
Rigg captains England U19s

Find out how our internationals fared across the globe today ⤵️
— Sunderland AFC (@SunderlandAFC) September 9, 2025

He was a leader on the pitch, representing England U-19 in a very positive way and showing that he is a very interesting player, expected to be taken into account by Regis Le Bris in the upcoming Premier League matches.

On the other hand, we highlight the great performance of forward Eliezer Mayenda, who took part in Spain U-21’s 3-1 victory over Kosovo in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers.

We saw how he enjoyed very positive minutes during this international break, even participating in the build-up to Spain’s first goal before being substituted in the 89th minute, competing practically throughout the whole match against Kosovo.

Finally, we have one of Sunderland’s most recent signings, Bertrand Traore, who started in the attack for Burkina Faso and completed the whole match despite drawing against Egypt in Group A.

It was a very positive match for the Sunderland forward, although Burkina Faso’s overall performance was not so strong, achieving only a draw against Egypt.

A fundamental return for the Black Cats in the Premier League

After this international break, he goes directly back to compete with Sunderland in the next Premier League match, which will be the fourth round against Crystal Palace on September 13.

A very positive overall performance for the entire Sunderland squad representing their countries, and now it is expected that they return at the highest level to compete against the current FA Cup champions.

This article first appeared on Sunderland on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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