Xhaka: Reaching Europa League Final with Sunderland 'a Dream'

Granit Xhaka expects the Stadium of Light "will be on fire" on Wednesday, when Sunderland play their first European match in 53 years, against AZ Alkmaar.

The captain has lost two Europa League finals already, with Arsenal in 2019 and with Bayer Leverkusen in 2024. Reaching a third would mean doing it with a club that returned to the Premier League only a year ago after eight seasons away.

Manager Régis Le Bris said he intends to field his strongest available side against AZ, and does not plan to rotate for the opener. "It's still early in the season, all the players are fresh and they can all play," he told the pre-match press conference. "I think they all want to play too, they're desperate to play in this competition. They also want to be part of something new for the club." He added that rotation will become necessary later in the campaign: "We're going to need more than 11 players to stay competitive on two fronts. But for now we can play with our strongest 11."

Xhaka was careful to rank the competition below the league. He is 33 and has won two FA Cups along with league titles in Germany and Switzerland over his career, but called Wednesday's tie "a Challenge" rather than a formality, adding that the players had earned their place in the competition after last season's work.