Sunderland’s first European outing in more than five decades is set for Thursday night as the Premier League club travels to Portugal to face third‑tier side Torreense. The match marks a curious symmetry: the club’s last competitive trip abroad was in 1970, when the Second Division side played Sporting Lisbon in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Now, a team that stunned the Portuguese capital by defeating Sporting in last season’s cup final has earned a place in the Europa League’s first round, having beaten Lillestrom 2‑1 in Norway.
Torreense are currently 15th in the LigaPro with six points from seven games, while Sunderland have struggled to find a specialist right‑winger in the summer, leaving manager Régis Le Bris to deploy two natural right‑backs, Trai Hume and Thomas Meunier, in that role. Injuries have also hit the Saints’ back‑line, with hamstring problems for Brian Brobbey and Dan Ballard, and a recent dip in form from goalkeeper Robin Roefs. Despite these setbacks, the club’s first six league fixtures have been against the current top four – Manchester City, Arsenal, Brighton and Brentford – and the team has shown flashes of quality.
The game will be played at Estádio Dr Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria, a venue that can hold 23,888 spectators, after the original home ground in Torres Vedras was deemed too small for UEFA standards. Sunderland will be based in a luxury hotel in Lisbon, with around 4,000 supporters travelling to the match. Accommodation shortages have pushed some fans to stay in nearby towns such as Fatima, a pilgrimage site that attracts millions of visitors each year. The club’s travel plans have been carefully arranged to minimise fatigue, with a direct flight from Lisbon to Bournemouth on Friday before the next domestic fixture.
Torreense’s squad features veteran captain Stopira, 38, who represented Cape Verde at the World Cup, as well as playmaker João Marques and Ghanaian striker Malik Abubakari. The Portuguese side will look to defend the Lines of Torres Vedras, a historic military defence that protected Lisbon during the Peninsular War, while Sunderland will aim to use the warm southern European climate to spark a turnaround in a season that has seen the club hover near the relegation zone.
In other news, Sunderland announced the departure of set‑piece coach James Brayne and the arrival of Thor Herdal from Nordsjælland, who will take charge of dead‑ball duties. The move comes as the club prepares for its next Europa League tie against Lech Poznan in Poland, underscoring the importance of keeping travel and fatigue to a minimum. The outcome of the Thursday match will be crucial for Sunderland’s hopes of securing a place in the next round of the competition and reigniting momentum ahead of the challenging fixtures that lie ahead.