Northern Ireland’s Trai Hume plays the ball out under pressure from Romania’s Florinel Coman
Northern Ireland and Sunderland star Trai Hume jostles for possession with Romania’s Florinel Coman in Bucharest
Northern Ireland’s Trai Hume plays the ball out under pressure from Romania’s Florinel Coman
The trick is to communicate. Trai Hume’s message for Northern Ireland’s match against Scotland on Tuesday and going forward is that.
The Sunderland player played in a three-man defense with captain Paddy McNair, Eoin Toal, and Conor Bradley as the wing-backs in Friday’s 1-1 draw against Romania.
The midfielders and forwards in front of them provided support and discipline, allowing the backline to handle nearly everything the home team threw at them with ease.
Though they went undefeated in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign, the Romanians struggled to penetrate Michael O’Neill’s tenacious, disciplined, and well-organized lineup.
They lost because of a mistake, as Romania’s Dennis Man tied the score after Jamie Reid, earning his maiden cap, had given the visitors an early lead.
Hume’s observation following the game—that there was a lot more conversation amongst those wearing green shirts—was intriguing. Northern Ireland produced a superb performance to follow up their thrilling 2-0 triumph over Denmark in November 2023.
“We started well, and getting the early goal helped us find our way into the game,” said Hume, voted the country’s Player of the Year for 2023 by the supporters.
“I think we know as a team for their goal, we could have done better with, but I thought we dug in, worked hard and a draw was a fair result.
“Usually under Michael, I’ve been playing the wing-back role, but he decided to go with Conor and Brodie and I played in a back-three. I’ll obviously do anything for the team, and I thought it was easy enough and I fitted in well.
“We had to be organised because Romania are a good team, and especially in possession, they have good players.
“Out of possession, they exert excellent pressure. We were well-prepared, albeit perhaps we should have been a little more direct to outwit their press. We demonstrated that last year against Denmark and again against Romania, and it was helpful in achieving our goals.
It’s easier since we spoke to each other more as a team and not just as a back-five. We shall advance as long as we continue in that manner.
Hume went on, “Scotland are a good team,” of facing them on their home ground. They have Premier League players and are clearly headed to the Euros, so in order to compete with them and try to win, we will need to be well-prepared.
“We have a young squad, but the younger players are gaining experience playing games. We have to keep building with these results because as young players, you want to build that momentum.”
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