Northern Ireland v Bosnia

DID YOU KNOW?

Words Marshall Gillespie

Chris Brunt has announced his retirement from international football and is not in the squad for today’s game. Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill said he will be sorely missed but understands his reasons for opting out. Here we look back at the highs and lows of the talented midfielder’s time playing for his country.

Lawrie Sanchez was the manager when Brunt made his international debut in a scoreless draw versus Switzerland in Zurich in August 2004. Amazingly his last appearance in a green shirt also came against the Swiss last November when Northern Ireland drew 0-0 in Basel in the second leg of a World Cup 2018 play-off.

Brunt’s first 10 appearances for his country came when he was at Sheffield Wednesday. The remaining 55 were made while he was a West Bromwich Albion player, making him the Baggies’

most capped international.

As a youth Brunt won eight under-19 caps, scoring three goals, against Andorra, Wales and Georgia respectively. He also represented Northern Ireland once at under-23 level and played twice for the under-21s where he scored one goal in a 2-1 victory over Scotland at the Oval.

In his 65 full internationals Brunt was on the winning side on 19 occasions. He tasted defeat in a green shirt 24 times, while the remaining 22 games ended in draws.

All three of Brunt’s goals for Northern Ireland were scored in World Cup qualifying matches. His first came in a 3-0 success against San Marino in February 2009. He had to wait over seven years before he claimed his second though in a 4-0 victory over Azerbaijan at the National Stadium. His third, and undoubtedly his best, came when he curled home a sublime free-kick in the 2-0 win against the Czech Republic in Belfast last September.

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