A Sunderland Star Has Been Benched For the Entire World Cup But is Now One of Their Stars of the Summer

A Sunderland Star Has Been Benched For the Entire World Cup But is Now One of Their Stars of the Summer

The World Cup knockouts have started and already we have seen some classics take place. No match bigger so far then the clash between the Netherlands and Morocco. Ranked 7th vs 8th it was always going to be a hard game to win. However, the pressure looked to have formed a diamond as a player who’s first minutes came in this game shinned. That player is none other than Sunderland winger Chemsdine Talbi.

Talbi has been an interesting player when it comes to Morocco, he has had some cameos here and there with 25 minutes against Brazil and 6 minutes against Scotland. However, he is yet to be given the trust to play any extended period. He changed that last night.

Entering the last 5 minutes of normal time Morocco were still searching for a goal that would give them a lifeline. With just 2 subs left they bring on the Sunderland man to try and turn their fortunes in any way possible. That is when in the first minute of injury time Talbi puts a teasing cross into the box where Issa Diop meets it. His header fires past Verbruggen. It was 1-1.

"IT'S MOROCCO MAYHEM" 🇲🇦

Right on the brink of full-time, Diop nets the ball with a pinpoint header to equalise 😱 pic.twitter.com/Cy9oZGr4hq

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 30, 2026

It only gets better for the 21-year-old. After the 30 minutes of extra time his name is put forward to take one of the penalties. Taking 3rd, he had the chance to level Morocco up after seeing them go behind. He takes that chance and berries his penalty. One that he would end up seeing help Morocco win the game.

The question is now what next for him? Has he earned the chance to play more minutes or will he still be a rotation player from the bench. Based on this performance his 33 minutes of play time saving Morocco deserves some more faith.