Valuable lessons for 'games that matter' - Hume

Trai Hume captained 10-man Northern Ireland to victory over Iceland

Northern Ireland captain Trai Hume has challenged his team-mates to carry lessons from friendlies forward into "the games that matter".

Michael O'Neill's side played 33 minutes with 10 men in Tuesday's 1-0 win over Iceland in their final friendly before World Cup qualifying begins in September.

Northern Ireland travel to Luxembourg and Germany in their opening qualifiers, and also face Slovakia in Group A.

"They are the games that matter. We are starting the campaign off with two away games so it is going to be tough," said Sunderland defender Hume.

"We want to have a good start and hopefully get a win in the first game."

Isaac Price's opener gave Northern Ireland the lead in a low-key first half at Windsor Park but Brodie Spencer was dismissed for a last-man tackle in the 57th minute.

"It's one of those things you can't control, but it's good to have that experience as a team. We stuck together and thankfully got the win," added Hume.

"It's tough no matter what level playing with 10 men. You have to run that wee bit extra and put in hard work.

"You never know if that is going to happen in competitive games so it is good to have that experience especially as a young group."

After joining from Irish Premiership side Linfield in 2022, Hume played a key role for Sunderland as they dramatically secured promotion to the Premier League in the play-off final.

The 23-year-old said he is "really excited" about playing in the Premier League.

"I'm probably not looking forward to pre-season as much because it's going to be that wee bit tougher but that's part and parcel of it.

"I'll have to work harder than I have before because I'm stepping up a level and playing in the best league in the world. It will be tough but I'm excited.

"It is a challenge I know me and my team-mates at Sunderland are looking forward to and hopefully we can get going."