Well, it seems pigs do fly, and we Geordies have gotten to see something we haven’t seen for quite a while, a Toon Player stepping up and getting picked for the national squad!
Recent signing Kieran Trippier, became the first player to be capped by England while playing for Newcastle United in more than six years. On Tuesday evening he helped Gareth Southgate’s side come from behind in a slow starting match to draw with Germany in Munich.
Not since the heady days of Shearer, Waddle and Beardsley et al, have we had much to crow about regarding the English national team, it made the game worth watching for many of us who had become disinterested in the national side.
The Bury-born defender did us proud and played the full 90mins of the UEFA Nations League clash, switching from the right-back role he plays for the Magpies to the left-back position for the Three Lions.
And despite conceding first to Jonas Hofmann’s 50th-minute strike, a late Harry Kane penalty earned England a point in Group A3 in what was Trippier’s 36th appearance for his country.
Trippier has been capped 36 times for England but has only scored once (against Croatia) in that time since his debut back in June 2017, regardless he will be looking to increase that in the coming months with regular games.
Trippier is a known set-piece wizard and can often turn a game with his famous ball over the wall free-kicks in and around the box which have already ingratiated him to expectant Newcastle fans.
On a separate note, another Newcastle fan favourite Bruno Guimarães won his eighth cap for Brazil on Monday night, coming on as an 85th-minute substitute in a 1-0 friendly win against Japan in Tokyo.
