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In 2017/18, when Manchester City won the Premier League with 100 points, Sunderland were acclimating to Championship life.
The season prior, when Chelsea stormed to a 93 point victory of their own, the Black Cats finished rock bottom of the table on just 24 points.
In 2025/26, their journey home was complete – now, after achieving qualification to Europe during their first top-flight campaign in nine years, the Black Cats have more representation on the world stage than a selection of European superstars.
Sunderland have more players at the 2026 World Cup than these European giants
In the time that Sunderland were absent from England's top-flight, the competition transformed into the world's domestic best.
From Guardiola's Cityzens, to Klopp's 'Mentality Monsters', to Tuchel's Champions League-winning Blues – the Premier League displayed, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the highest quality of football in the world for what is now nearing a decade.
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Prior to their relegation in the 2016/17 campaign, Sunderland failed previously to ensure top-flight survival in 2005/06.
On that occasion, the Black Cats had bounced straight back, playing Premier League football from 2007-2016 uninterrupted.
In the nine years it took to see Regis Le Bris' men eventually return to England's top-flight, Sunderland fans also grappled with the harsh reality that, this time, it may not be accompanied by a guaranteed stay.
Bizarrely, beautifully, even, the Black Cats achieved qualification to the UEFA Champions League in 2025/26, attaining 54 points and landing in seventh position.
Now, the 2026 World Cup is here, and Sunderland is represented on the world stage greater than both Liverpool and Real Madrid.
During the Black Cats' Premier League absence, Liverpool won the competition twice, breaking a 30 year drought in 2019/20.
They prevailed again in 2024/25, just the season prior to Sunderland's return, and the UEFA Champions League in 2018/19.
In that period, Jurgen Klopp's side lifted three domestic cup trophies, the UEFA Super Cup, the Club World Cup, and made it to three Champions League finals.
As for Real Madrid? They were victors in the two finals that Klopp's men lost, and an additional Champions League in 2023/24.
Now, Regis Le Bris' side are providing greater representation for their club at the 2026 World Cup than either of those European giants, with 12 players present in North America.
At the time of writing, Brian Brobbey, one of said players from the Black Cats' 'Dynamic Dozen', just bagged a brace against Sweden.
Earlier in the week, Granit Xhaka delivered a mammoth performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina, capping the day off with a 97th minute penalty in Switzerland's 4-1 Group B victory.
With every game played that contains a Sunderland player, the odds of the Black Cats' name being invoked on the world stage increases.
Only Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Manchester City have more players in North America this summer.
And that's a beautiful thing – not just for English football, but for the game. Hope truly is the best of things, and how wonderful is that?
