Sunderland AFC has a rich international history, with many players representing the club at the World Cup. From Willie Watson to Roy Keane, we take a look at every Sunderland player to have featured at the tournament while wearing the red and white stripes of the club. The first Sunderland player to feature at the World Cup was Willie Watson, a wing-half who was also a distinguished cricketer, earning 23 Test caps for England. Watson won four England caps in total, although he did not feature during the tournament itself as England exited at the group stage. Sunderland's next World Cup representative arrived 12 years later in the form of club legend Stan Anderson. The midfielder made more than 400 appearances for the club between 1952 and 1963 and remains the only player to have played for and captained Sunderland, Middlesbrough and the Visitors up the road. Like Watson before him, Anderson did not make an appearance at the tournament. England, featuring a young Bobby Moore, reached the quarter-finals before being eliminated by a Brazil side inspired by Garrincha and Pelé. After Stan Anderson's involvement (or lack thereof) at the 1962 World Cup, Sunderland had to wait another 40 years before one of their own was selected for football's biggest stage, with the next call-up not arriving until 2002. That said, the intervening years were not short of players with Sunderland connections, many of whom joined the club later in their careers. Former manager Peter Reid represented England at the 1986 World Cup, witnessing both the brilliance and controversy of Diego Maradona as Argentina eliminated England in the quarter-finals thanks to the 'Goal of the Century' and the infamous 'Hand of God'. Elsewhere, Glenn Hysén, father of former Sunderland striker Tobias Hysén, featured for Sweden at Italia '90, while future Sunderland defender Thomas Helmer represented Germany at both the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. No list of Sunderland-linked World Cup players would be complete without Roy Keane, who played for Ireland in 1994 and was later at the centre of the infamous Saipan Incident with future Sunderland manager Mick McCarthy ahead of the 2002 tournament. Other Sunderland-connected players to appear at World Cups during this period include former captain Gary Breen for Ireland in 2002, as well as Trinidad and Tobago quartet Dwight Yorke, Kenwyne Jones, Carlos Edwards and Stern John, who famously faced England at the 2006 World Cup. The 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea saw Sunderland achieve its largest-ever representation at the tournament up to that point, with six players selected by their national teams. The figure reflected the club's success in the preceding years, having secured back-to-back seventh-place Premier League finishes.