'I know my quality' - Tom Cannon outlines Sheffield United plan after scoring first international goals
Tom Cannon scored his first international goals after scoring twice for the Republic of Ireland at the weekend.
Sheffield United striker Tom Cannon is targeting more game time next season to try and remain at the forefront of Republic of Ireland head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson’s plans.
Cannon, who joined the Blades from Leicester City in January 2025, scored his first senior goals for the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, stepping off the bench to score twice in a 5-0 win over Grenada in Murcia.
Replacing United teammate Mark McGuinness at half-time, Cannon opened the scoring within 60 seconds of coming off the bench before claiming his second less than ten minutes later when he swept the ball home after being teed up by Adam Idah’s smart flick.
With the friendly being staged outside a designated Fifa window, Hallgrímsson’s squad was predominantly made up of Championship and League One players who are usually on the periphery of his plans. Nevertheless, it was an opportunity for them to impress, including Cannon, who should have ended the game with at least a hat-trick after going close to scoring again on several occasions.
With the start of the 2028 European Championship now a little over two years away, Cannon will be desperate to put himself in contention to represent his country at a major tournament.
And having netted his first goals for his country, he knows he needs to secure more frequent opportunities at Bramall Lane to keep forcing his way into the Republic of Ireland squad.
“That’s the plan, obviously Patrick Bamford came in just before Christmastime and he hit the ground running to be fair to him and he’s done very well,” Cannon said. “But I’m still young.
“I’ve just got to keep my head down, keep going and, yeah, take a chance when they come.
“I know my quality, I know what I can do and when called upon I need to just put in performances like that which I think I did here and just always be in the manager’s thoughts.”
Having seen a header cleared off the line, hit the crossbar with a free-kick and been denied late on by Grenada goalkeeper Trishawn Thomas, Cannon, who scored six goals in 36 Championship appearances for the Blades this season, walked off the pitch at full-time believing he should have scored a hat-trick at the very least.
“It should have been about eight, honestly, but I’ll take two goals,” Cannon added.
“It's my first two goals for my country so I'm absolutely delighted, over the moon. It would have been nice obviously to get the hat-trick, but I'll take the two nevertheless.”