England are playing at the home of Newcastle United next week, much to the delight of Gareth Southgate.
He has named a provisional 33-man squad for the Euros this summer, which includes two Newcastle United players – Anthony Gordon and Kieran Trippier.
They will both be hoping to be involved on Monday, as the Three Lions face Bosnia And Herzegovina in a friendly at St James’ Park.
It will be the first time that the national team have competed on Tyneside since 2005, and it is set to be a special night with a couple of current Toon players hoping to feature. They have both reported for international duty at England’s base in Middlesbrough, with Trippier rushing back from Australia and Gordon getting over his ankle injury.
They will want to prove their worth to Southgate in front of their club fans, but the England manager has reminded them that St James’ Park will not just be full of members of the Toon Army.
Gareth Southgate looks forward to England competing at St James’ Park
Following the start of England’s pre-Euro 2024 training camp, Southgate has spoke to the Three Lions’ official YouTube channel about the upcoming friendlies.
He was asked about taking on Bosnia And Herzegovina in front of a ‘passionate crowd’ in the North East.
“Bringing the team on the road is something that we’ve enjoyed doing,” he said.
“Of course, to play at Wembley for your country is very special, so you never want to lose that aspect. We’ve got a nice contrast this week of being able to do both things.
“But we’re England. We represent everybody. I’ve obviously played in the North East and know how passionate people are here about their football. Newcastle, with the last couple of seasons they’ve had and the momentum behind them, but there’ll be a lot of Sunderland fans up there and Middlesbrough fans.
“It will be a brilliant night. Really looking forward to that.”
It’s been a while since Sunderland fans were spotted inside Newcastle United’s home
The last time Sunderland fans visited St James’ Park was March 2016, when an 83rd minute equaliser from Aleksandar Mitrovic rescued a point for Rafa Benitez’s Magpies.
Since then, there has only been one meeting between the North East rivals, and that was at the Stadium Of Light earlier this year. The FA Cup contest ended 3-0 to Newcastle, with Alexander Isak bagging a brace – for those that needed a reminder.
But Southgate is right, there probably will be England fans who support Sunderland in attendance on Monday night. It is an international game, after all.
It will be telling how many are in the ground if Jordan Pickford features, as he always gets a frosty reception from Newcastle supporters when Everton arrive on Tyneside. If there are cheers inside St James’ Park when he touches the ball, you know the Mackems are in town.
Hopefully it does not lead to any issues in the stands, with everyone’s main focus being to support England ahead of Euro 2024 in Germany.
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