Sunderland's previous appearances at Wembley

1937 FA Cup final

Sunderland 3 Preston North End 1

Sunderland’s maiden appearance in the FA Cup final came in 1913 as they suffered a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa, but the game was staged at Crystal Palace rather than Wembley. As a result, the club’s first outing at the national stadium came 24 years later, in 1937, and resulted in the first of their two FA cup successes.

They were up against it in the early stages, with Preston claiming a deserved lead as Frank O’Donnell drilled a low shot past Sunderland goalkeeper Johnny Mapson.

Only two sides had ever come from behind to win a Wembley final, but Sunderland’s recovery began at the start of the second half as they levelled through Bobby Gurney.

Raich Carter was Sunderland’s talismanic skipper, and the England inside-right turned the game in his side’s direction when he fired home with 20 minutes left. Sunderland made their win safe in the closing stages, with Eddie Burbanks claiming a third goal from an acute angle.

All 11 members of Sunderland’s victorious side have now died, with the final survivor, Mapson, passing on at the age of 82 in 1999.

Sunderland: Mapson, Gorman, Hall, Thomson, Johnston, McNab, Duns, Carter, Gurney, Gallacher, Burbanks.

1973 FA Cup final

Sunderland 1 Leeds United 0

Thirty-six years after their first FA Cup final appearance, Sunderland returned to Wembley to participate in a game that is still remembered as one of the most remarkable in the competition’s history.

Bob Stokoe’s Second Division side were regarded as complete no-hopers as they took on the all-conquering Leeds United, but roared on by a travelling army from Wearside, the outsiders ripped up the script.

Sunderland’s players were inspired from the outset, and their commitment was rewarded shortly after the half-hour mark, when they scored what would prove the only goal of the game. Vic Halom chested down a corner from Billy Hughes, and assisted by a deflection of Dave Watson, the ball looped invitingly for Ian Porterfield to fire home from 12 yards.

The goal has gone down in Wearside folklore, but the most memorable moment of the game came midway through the second half. Jimmy Montgomery’s remarkable double save from Trevor Cherry and Peter Lorimer is one of the great pieces of FA Cup history, and ensured Sunderland would become the first FA Cup winners from outside the top-flight for 42 years.

Sunderland: Montgomery, Malone, Guthrie, Horswill, Watson, Pitt, Kerr, Hughes, Halom, Porterfield, Tueart.

1985 Milk Cup final

Norwich City 1 Sunderland 0

Sunderland’s first appearance in the League Cup final was the culmination of a run that saw them claim notable victories over Tottenham and Chelsea, and pitted them against fellow First Division strugglers Norwich City.

The Wearsiders began brightly, with David Hodgson going close from 30 yards within the opening minute, and were unfortunate when Clive Walker was felled by Dennis van Wijk as he broke clear in the Norwich half shortly before half-time.

Had the incident occurred today, van Wijk would almost certainly have been sent off, but the Norwich full-back remained on the field and the Canaries gained control of the game in the second half.

They scored the only goal of the game in the 47th minute, with Sunderland centre-half David Corner erring badly as he tried to usher the ball out for a goal-kick. John Deehan robbed him of possession, and Asa Hartford found the net via a hefty deflection off Gordon Chisholm.

Sunderland were handed a golden chance to equalise when van Wijk handled Barry Venison’s cross, but Walker’s penalty struck the outside of the post.

Sunderland: Turner, Venison, Pickering, Bennett, Chisholm, Corner (Gayle), Daniel, Wallace, Hodgson, Berry, Walker.

1990 Division Two play-off final

Swindon Town 1 Sunderland 0

In many ways, Sunderland’s Wembley appearance against Swindon Town in 1990’s play-off final is the club’s forgotten outing at the national stadium.

Denis Smith’s side booked their place in the final by beating bitter rivals Newcastle United in a two-legged semi-final, having finished level on points with Swindon during the conventional season.

A largely unremarkable final was settled by the early goal of the game in the first half, with Alan McLoughlin’s shot finding the net via a huge deflection off Gary Bennett.

However, while the final whistle appeared to condemn Sunderland to another season in the second tier, the drama was only just beginning.

Swindon were found guilty of breaching Football League regulations relating to the illegal payment of players and relegated to the Third Division. Newcastle argued they should have been promoted as they finished third in the table, but the league awarded the promotion spot to Sunderland as a reward for their place in the play-off final.

Sunderland: Norman, Kay, Agboola, Bennett, MacPhail, Owers, Bracewell, Armstrong, Gates (Hauser), Gabbiadini, Pascoe (Atkinson).

1992 FA Cup final

Liverpool 2 Sunderland 0

Sunderland’s most recent FA Cup final appearance saw them take on Liverpool in the final despite being in the Second Division.

The game looked a mismatch on paper, with Liverpool boasting the likes of Ian Rush, Dean Saunders and Steve McManaman in their starting line-up, but Sunderland were the better side for much of the first half.

However, Liverpool opened the scoring two minutes into the second half, with Michael Thomas firing home after acrobatic half-volley after McManaman crossed from the flank.

Thomas was also involved in his side’s second goal 20 minutes later, breaking into the box to help set up Rush for an angled finish.

Ray Houghton almost added a third goal as he tried to lob Tony Norman from 40 yards, and Malcolm Crosby’s Sunderland side never really looked like getting themselves back into the game.

Sunderland: Norman, Owers, Ball, Bennett, Rogan, Rush (Hardyman), Bracewell, Davenport, Armstrong (Hawke), Byrne, Atkinson.

1998 Division One play-off final

Charlton Athletic 4 Sunderland 4 (Charlton won 7-6 on penalties)

To this day, Sunderland’s first appearance in a Wembley play-off final is still remembered as one of the most remarkable games ever staged at the national stadium.

Charlton claimed the lead midway through the first half thanks to a solo effort from boyhood Sunderland fan Clive Mendonca, who would go on to claim a hat-trick, but the Wearsiders levelled at the start of the second half as Niall Quinn headed home Nicky Summerbee’s corner.

Kevin Phillips prodded Peter Reid’s side into the lead, but Mendonca levelled before Sunderland restored their advantage as Quinn controlled Lee Clark’s cross on his chest and hammered home.

Richard Rufus’ header took the game to extra-time, and just eight additional minutes had elapsed when Summerbee received possession from Quinn and drove past Sasa Ilic. Once again, though, Sunderland were unable to hold on, and Mendonca sent the final to penalties when he claimed his hat-trick.

The shoot-out was every bit as dramatic as the rest of the game, with the first 13 spot-kicks all being converted. Michael Gray stepped up to try to keep Sunderland alive, but his weak effort was saved by Ilic.

Sunderland: Perez, Holloway (Makin), Craddock, Williams, Gray, Summerbee, Clark (Rae), Ball, Johnston, Quinn, Phillips (Dichio).

2014 Capital One Cup final

Manchester City 3 Sunderland 1

Sunderland’s first appearance at the new Wembley saw them go down to Manchester City in the League Cup final.

They went into the final as underdogs, but could not have wished for a better start as Adam Johnson’s tenth-minute through ball released Fabio Borini into the area, and the Italian beat Costel Pantilimon with a fierce low strike.

Borini almost scored again before the interval, only for Vincent Kompany’s last-ditch challenge to prevent him getting a shot away, but Manchester City levelled at the start of the second half.

Yaya Toure curled home from distance, and the game immediately swung decisively in City’s direction.

Less than 60 seconds later, and Manuel Pellegrini’s side were claiming the lead as Samir Nasri fired home after Aleksandar Kolorov’s cross was deflected into his path.

City made the game safe in the dying seconds, with Jesus Navas scoring to round off a flowing counter-attacking move.

Sunderland: Mannone, Bardsley, Brown, O’Shea, Alonso, Larsson (Gardner), Cattermole (Giaccherini), Ki, Johnson (Fletcher), Colback, Borini.

2019 Checkatrade Trophy final

Portsmouth 2 Sunderland 2 (Portsmouth won 5-4 on penalties)

The first of Sunderland’s three Wembley appearances as a League One club saw them go down to Portsmouth in the final of the Checkatrade Trophy.

Sunderland were the better side in the first half, and claimed a deserved 38th-minute lead when Aiden McGeady’s free-kick found the net via a deflection off Matt Clarke.

Pompey were much improved in the second half though, and grabbed a dramatic leveller when Nathan Thompson headed home Gareth Evans’ cross with eight minutes left.

Jamal Lowe looked to have won it when he put Portsmouth ahead with six minutes of extra-time remaining, but Sunderland grabbed a dramatic 119th-minute equaliser when McGeady slotted home his second.

That took the game to penalties, and with nine of the ten spot-kicks finding the net, Lee Cattermole’s miss proved decisive.

Sunderland: McLaughlin, O’Nien, Flanagan, Baldwin, James (Hume), Cattermole, Leadbitter (Wyke), Morgan (Gooch), Honeyman, McGeady, Grigg (Power).

2019 League One play-off final

Charlton Athletic 2 Sunderland 1

For the second time in just over two months, Sunderland lined up at Wembley – and for the second time in just over two months, they were left heart-broken as Charlton subjected them to play-off misery once again.

The Black Cats could hardly have asked for a better start, with Charlton goalkeeper Dillon Phillips inexplicably failing to connect with his attempted clearance from Naby Sarr’s powerfully-hit backpass.

Sunderland failed to build on their early breakthrough though, and Charlton equalised towards the end of the first half when Ben Purrington tapped home Lyle Taylor’s low cross.

The second half was something of a cat-and-mouse affair, and Sunderland’s players were left with their heads in their hands when Patrick Bauer scored in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time.

Sunderland’s defenders failed to deal with a ball into the box, and Bauer was able to stab home at the back post.

Sunderland: McLaughlin, O’Nien, Ozturk, Flanagan, Oviedo, Cattermole, Power (Morgan), Leadbitter, Honeyman, Wyke (McGeady), Maguire (Grigg).

2021 Papa John’s Trophy final

Sunderland 1 Tranmere Rovers 0

Sunderland’s most recent Wembley appearance ended in glory, as they saw off Tranmere in the final of the Papa John’s Trophy, but their success lost much of its lustre because it took place behind-closed-doors as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

A final of surprisingly few chances was settled by Lynden Gooch’s 57th-minute winner, with the American latching on to Aiden McGeady’s through ball before slotting home.

Sunderland almost added a second goal with 15 minutes remaining, but Conor McLaughlin’s looped header was touched onto the bar by Tranmere goalkeeper Scott Davies.

The win was the Black Cats’ first Wembley triumph since 1973, but while there were scenes of celebration as Max Power lifted the trophy, they were played out amid a backdrop of empty stands.

Sunderland: Burge, Power, Flanagan (McLaughlin), O’Nien, McFadzean, Leadbitter, Scowen, Maguire (Diamond), Gooch, Wyke, McGeady.