Ciaran McKenna says…
For me, Brian Brobbey.
It might seem obvious to choose a striker, but I think it would be perfect.
Brobbey is yet to find the net this season and it would be great for him to get off the mark. I also think he deserves the praise that comes with scoring a goal, for all the hard work he does in his role.
He was brilliant against Arsenal, giving Ezri Konsa a real run for his money. His link up play both in that game and during his time on Wearside has been the root of most of our success, and it would
be great to see him reap the rewards.
I’d like to think that it would give him a confidence boost to and hopefully kick start his goal tally for this campaign.
David Elliott says…
I’d like to see Chris Rigg score because he’s a local lad.
He seems to have come on in leaps and bounds over the last year and he knows how important football is in the region.
It would be great to have a homegrown scorer get us up and running in Europe this time around.
Ian Clark says…
I’d love to see Nordi Mukiele get Sunderland’s first goal in Europe.
Firstly, because his recent performances have been nothing short of superb and it would be fully deserved. Secondly it would be perfect for a player of undeniable quality who nobody could quite believe it when we signed him from PSG to score our first goal in a competition nobody could quite believe we are playing in.
He’s just a magnificent footballer who oozes class.
Come on Nordi! If it’s not Mukiele, wouldn’t it be fitting for Noah Sadiki to get his first goal for the club on such a historic night? He’s been close a few times recently and I’d love to see how he celebrates.
Lewis Forbister says…
I would go with Wilson Isidor based on the fact that he’s been our striker since the promotion season of 2024/2025 and I feel it would be a ‘full circle moment’: scoring in the Championship, scoring in our first game back in the Premier League and our first in Europe for fifty three years.
I imagine it would also be great for the player himself and will hopefully lead to more league goals from both himself and Brian Brobbey.
Malc Dugdale says…
I’d like to see Granit Xhaka score a screamer from outside the box.
The bloke has been instrumental in transforming this club since we resumed our Premier League position and he hasn’t really got his scoring boots on as yet.
He made it clear with all the Chelsea attention in the summer that he’s here for this next phase. The on-field gaffer deserves a reward at times, and this is the time.
Smash it, Granit. It’s the least you and we all deserve.
Mark Ryan says…
I’ll say Trai Hume, because as much as I love Luke O’Nien, I don’t want him starting the game.
Hume has made the journey with up the leagues with us and deserves a moment like that to go with the goal against Chelsea in the season finale.
He’s a better attacking player than a lot of fans give him credit for, so some validation there would be great for the narrative as well.
Matthew Donne says…
For purely narrative reasons, it would be Luke O’Nien — our version of ‘Mr Sunderland’, and what a story it would be if he got himself on a European scoresheet!
Owen Sara says…
It has to be Luke O’Nien.
I’m sure we’ve all seen the pictures of him loading everything he had into his Vauxhall Corsa as he made the move up north to join us. His debut was one to forget and left many scratching their heads and to who exactly we had just bought, but the lad has exemplary mentality and always wants to find marginal ways to improve his game.
He’s been part of some of our most memorable games, including both playoff final successes. It would be so fitting for this almost fairytale-like story to be capped off by one of the only two League One originals that are still left standing.
He has many critics and many who bizarrely want to see him fail and it would truly be the icing on the cake for one of the originals to set us off and running in the Europa League much like our return to the Premier League. All three goals in the 2025/2026 opening day demolition over West Ham were scored by three of the playoff final eleven.
