Sunderland’s winter – how much will Afcon turn up the heat on the Black Cats?
Written by Xingnuo Tang on 3rd December 2025
Sunderland’s Habib Diarra in action for the Black Cats.
FIFA has given Sunderland an early Christmas present – by leaving their squad intact for the crucial Wear-Tyne derby on December 14.
But the club still faces a challenging new year.
It’s all down to the Black Cats’ contingent of African stars, seven of whom are due to play in the African Cup of Nations (Afcon), starting on December 15.
FIFA has extended the deadline for players to leave for Afcon by a week, which means that those key players will be able to play in the home derby against Newcastle on December 14.
But now for the bad news.
The first month of the new year will not be easy for Sunderland, since the loss of their African players will make life tough.
As a newly promoted team this season, they have performed exceptionally well. After 13 rounds of the Premier League, Sunderland has six wins, four draws, and three losses, accumulating 22 points and ranking sixth in the Premier League.
This success is closely related to their African players.
They are: Habib Diarra (Senegal), Adingra (Côte d’Ivoire), Talbi (Morocco), Sadiki (Democratic Republic of Congo), Bertrand Traoré (Burkina Faso), Reinildo (Mozambique), and Masuaku (Democratic Republic of Congo).
For SAFC, the worst-case scenario would be two to three players missing up to a month, meaning they would miss up to six Premier League matches against Brighton, Leeds United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Brentford, and Crystal Palace.
For a depleted SAFC, matches against those teams could prove difficult.
If they win only one of these six matches, or even fail to win any, Sunderland’s ranking will plummet, possibly transforming them from a team currently qualifying for European competitions to one fighting relegation.
Noah Sadiki makes a break with the ball for Sunderland in the Premier League.
The combined value of the Black Cats’ African players reaches £105million.
Sadiki is a key player for the team, while the others are regulars. Their absence will severely impact Sunderland’s squad depth.
Of course, the club won’t sit idly by: even before the winter transfer window has opened, SAFC already has targets in mind, such as Lazio midfielder Guendouzi, indicating the club will make significant investments during the transfer window.
SAFC fans may not be focused on the Afcon results, they may even hope their players’ countries are eliminated early, so they can return to Sunderland sooner.
In short, losing seven players in the congested Premier League winter schedule is undoubtedly a severe test for SAFC.
Finding suitable replacements will be their top priority this month.
