Dan Ballard says Northern Ireland experience helpful for Sunderland Europa foray
Dan Ballard got his first taste of European football last week but felt right at home thanks to his experiences with Northern Ireland.
Ballard came off the bench early in the second half of Sunderland’s 1-0 Europa League win over AZ Alkmaar as the Black Cats made their first appearance in Europe in 53 years.
The 27-year-old said it felt like one of the big nights he has enjoyed playing in green and white.
“I was quite surprised how similar it was to the international games, the style of football and just the whole feel of the night,” Ballard said.
“It does remind me a lot of the games with Northern Ireland, so I think that should hopefully help me and Trai (Hume) in the Europa League this season.”
The 6ft 2in Ballard has developed a reputation as a no-nonsense defender who can also offer a threat from set-pieces, scoring five international goals to date.
On Sunday, he enjoyed a physical tussle with Manchester City’s star forward Erling Haaland, a week after winning a controversial penalty against boyhood club Arsenal as he battled with Ezri Konsa.
Arsenal subsequently held talks with Pro Ref over the matter, feeling Ballard was the offender as both players had hold of each other, and the Premier League’s Key Match Incidents panel on Wednesday morning said it unanimously agreed that the penalty award was incorrect.
“My intention always is to try and win the ball, and I’m very aggressive with the opponents and there’s a fine line, isn’t there, between what oversteps the mark, and at the time I felt like he was pulling me,” Ballard – speaking before the panel delivered its verdict – said of the incident.
“The penalty was given, but it’s tough for the referees and it’s tough for me when I’m attacking the corners now because I think people understand I could be more of a threat and it’s a lot harder for me to move now because people put a lot of force on me.”
Ballard has been a mainstay at the back for Northern Ireland since his debut in September 2020, although a succession of injuries have limited him to 33 caps.
Having missed the last two camps following a hamstring injury, Ballard was a frustrated observer as Northern Ireland lost their World Cup qualifying play-off semi-final 2-0 to Italy in March.
That has only sharpened his hunger to reach a major tournament with Northern Ireland, who begin their Nations League campaign away to Georgia this week with an eye on next year’s Euro 2028 qualifying campaign.
“I’m getting a little bit older now, and I want to play at a major tournament,” he added. “(Against Italy) was a good opportunity, but we’ve got a few more chances, and we’ll be raring to go.”
This Northern Ireland team remains a work in progress given the huge amount of youth in the squad, but there is also considerable experience despite the tender years.
“We’re still a really young squad now and there’s going to be a moment in time where hopefully we can turn that into a campaign where we can qualify, but we’ll just have to see where it goes,” Ballard added.
“If you look at the (Euro) 2016 squad, there’s a lot of top players, very experienced, and I think it’s going to take that to qualify.”