Sunderland's World Cup stars leading the way ahead of Premier League rivals
Several Sunderland stars are impressing at this summer's World Cup finals.
Sunderland and Crystal Palace are surprisingly leading the way for the Premier League at this summer’s World Cup finals.
The Black Cats have 12 players representing their countries at the tournament in North America - and it would be safe to suggest some of them have made a major impact during the opening fortnight. There has been Brian Brobbey putting his power, poise and presences to good use by finding the net for the Netherlands or Granit Xhaka, who has been linked with a move to Chelsea in recent days, providing the nous and leadership as captain of Switzerland.
Wilson Isidor hit one of the most memorable goals of the tournament so far when his long-range effort was not enough to prevent Haiti from falling to a defeat against Haiti - but Black Cats team-mate Nilson Angulo was more successful as his goal helped Ecuador shock Germany to secure a place in the knockout rounds. Habib Diarra became the fifth Sunderland player to score at the finals when he scored from close range in Senegal’s comprehensive win against Iraq on Friday evening - and that also ensured Sunderland joined Palace as the Premier League club that has provided the most World Cup goals during the group stage of the tournament.
Although Isidor is now heading home for a break before turning his focus towards preparing for the new season, a whole host of Black Cats stars are preparing for knockout round ties over the coming days - and that means Sunderland players can continue to impress at the tournament.
But how do their goalscoring exploits at this summer’s World Cup finals compare to other clubs across the Premier League?
World Cup finals 2026 goals scored by players from Premier League clubs
7 goals: Sunderland (Brobbey - 3, Xhaka - 1, Diarra - 1, Isidor - 1, Angulo - 1) Crystal Palace (Sarr - 3, Kamada - 2 , Munoz - 2)
5 goals: Newcastle United (Wissa - 3, Elanga - 2) Arsenal (Havertz - 2, Trossard - 2, Gyokeres) Manchester United (Cunha - 3, Rashford - 1, Amad - 1)
4 goals: Liverpool (Gakpo - 2, Isak - 1, Van Dijk - 1), Manchester City (Haaland - 4)
3 goals: Wolverhampton Wanderers (Krejci - 1, Jimenez - 1, Kaladzjic - 1)
2 goals: Brighton & Hove Albion (Ayari - 2), West Ham United (Summerville - 2)
1 goals: Aston Villa (McGinn - 1), Everton (Ndiaye - 1), Tottenham Hotspur (Van Hecke - 1)
Premier League leading scorers at World Cup finals
4 goals: Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway)
3 goals: Brian Brobbey (Sunderland/Netherlands), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace/Senegal), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United/Brazil), Yoane Wissa (Newcastle United/DR Congo)
2 goals: Anthony Elanga (Newcastle United/Sweden), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool/Netherlands), Crysencio Summerville (West Ham United/Netherlands), Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace/Japan), Daniel Munoz (Crystal Palace/Colombia), Kai Havertz (Arsenal/Germany), Leandro Trossard (Arsenal/Belgium), Yasin Ayari (Brighton & Hove Albion/Sweden)
1 goals: John McGinn (Aston Villa/Scotland), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton/Senegal), Jean Paul Van Hecke (Tottenham Hotspur/Netherlands)
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