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Sunderland’s stunning start to the season will have a number of their young stars dreaming of an England call-up – and they don’t have to look far for inspiration.
The Black Cats’ young squad are currently sitting pretty at the top of the Championship after nine games, with teenagers Jobe Bellingham and Chris Rigg playing key roles in the strong start to the season. They are two of the players already being tipped for a future international call-up, and they could follow a long line of Sunderland players to represent their nation while plying their trade at the Stadium of Light.
And as the club enters the second international break of the season, we look back to the last five players to have won a Three Lions cap while playing on Wearside.
Defoe was an England regular for years, making 55 appearances between 2004 and 2013 while scoring 19 goals in the process. After leaving Tottenham in January 2014, he didn’t make his way back into the England side until he rediscovered his old goalscoring form at Sunderland.
In Defoe’s second full season at the Stadium of Light, then newly-appointed manager Gareth Southgate picked the 34-year-old for the World Cup Qualifiers in March 2017. He started at Wembley against Lithuania, scoring his 20th England goal in the 20th minute at the national stadium as the home side went on to win 2-0.
He made a second appearance in the June qualifiers, coming off the bench in a 2-2 draw against Scotland at Hampden Park. The striker left Sunderland a few weeks later following the club’s relegation to the Championship.
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