West Brom's Brunt retires from Northern Ireland duty

Published on: 21 August 2018

Brunt was regularly deployed by Michael O'Neill as a left-back for NI in recent years

West Brom's Northern Ireland midfielder Chris Brunt has retired from international football.

Brunt, 33, earned 65 international caps and scored three goals after making his debut against Switzerland in 2004.

The midfielder missed out Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 finals campaign owing to a serious knee injury.

Brunt played for his country for the final time in the 2018 World Cup play-off second leg against Switzerland last November.

Michael O'Neill's side drew 0-0 in Basel to lose 1-0 to the Swiss on aggregate and miss out on a place at this summer's World Cup finals in Russia.

Although a left-sided midfielder, the former Sheffield Wednesday player was also deployed as a full-back by O'Neill in recent years.

His first goal for his country was a free-kick away to San Marino in 2009, while his final goal was also a free-kick - a perfectly placed strike against the Czech Republic at Windsor Park in September 2017.

He also scored the last of Northern Ireland's goals in a 4-0 home World Cup qualifier win over Azerbaijan in Belfast in November 2016.

Brunt played in eight of the games that saw Northern Ireland reach the Euro 2016 finals - their first appearance at a major competition for 30 years.

A knee injury cruelly robbed him of the opportunity of playing at the tournament. but despite that setback he travelled to France to encourage his team-mates in the changing room and from the sidelines.

Following the two-legged defeat by Switzerland, O'Neill left Brunt out of his recent squads to give the player time to consider his international future.

"I am disappointed that Chris is retiring as I believe that he still has much to offer the team, however I completely understand his decision to spend a bit more time with his young family and to concentrate on his club career with West Brom," said O'Neill.

"I want to thank him for everything that he gave me on the pitch. He was a model professional and his contribution to the Northern Ireland team over the past 14 years will be remembered for a long time to come."

Source: bbc.com

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