Trai Hume believes that the recent wave of success enjoyed by several of Northern Ireland`s young talents will significantly raise the bar for the national squad.
Hume and his Sunderland teammate Daniel Ballard are celebrating their promotion to the Premier League following a dramatic play-off journey that culminated in a victory over Sheffield United at Wembley.
This achievement caps a remarkable period for young Northern Ireland players. In the preceding weeks, Conor Bradley received a Premier League winner`s medal with Liverpool, while 21-year-old Justin Devenny lifted the FA Cup with Crystal Palace.
The addition of Ballard, 25, and Hume, 23, to the ranks of Premier League players doubles the representation from Northern Ireland in England`s top flight. Hume is confident this can only benefit Michael O’Neill’s team as they prepare for their World Cup qualifying campaign, set to begin in September.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt,” Hume commented. “You’re exposing yourself to the best league in the world, so you want to try your best to do well there and if you can, you’re going to become a better player because of it.”
“Obviously me and Dan are still young, Conor and Justin are still young, so hopefully we can have a lot of years in the Premier League and that will only benefit Northern Ireland going forward,” he added. “I have no doubt there’s other players in the squad that will get themselves into the Premier League as well. Obviously it’s us four at the minute and hopefully we can try and push the lads and bring them up to the standard that we’re going to set.”
Northern Ireland is currently focused on upcoming friendlies against Denmark on Saturday and Iceland on Tuesday. However, attention is already shifting to September, when their World Cup qualifying campaign kicks off with challenging away fixtures against Luxembourg and Germany. Slovakia also features in Group A.
Gaining experience in high-pressure matches like the Championship play-off final provides invaluable preparation for facing top opponents such as Germany. Hume explained, “I think it will help us deal with the atmosphere a bit better. Obviously, the calibre of players will be a lot different. I think we will try our best to deal with that.”
He continued, “I think the big games you do play in, you get used to the emotion of it and the challenge of playing in front of the crowd and not getting caught up in the emotion of the game.”
Acknowledging the challenge, Hume stated, “Germany is definitely going to be a lot different than Sheffield United. Like I say, we will just have to try our best to be ready and be focused for it.”
While Germany are clear favorites to top the group, Northern Ireland is aiming to secure second place and a play-off spot by outperforming Slovakia and Luxembourg.
Daniel Ballard stressed the importance of these crucial matches, describing them as vital “cup finals.”
“I think we can make a really positive start to the group,” Ballard commented. “I think the games against Luxembourg and Slovakia are going to be really important for us. I think they will all be like cup finals.”
He concluded, “I feel like we have a real opportunity this year to go and put ourselves in a strong spot to qualify.”
