Di’Shon Bernard has received supportive messages from his former Manchester United teammates on Instagram.
That’s after he posted a photo yesterday following Jamaica’s qualification for the 2024 Copa America tournament.
While born in London, Di’Shon Bernard is Jamaican by descent and so is eligible to play for the national team. The defender made his debut in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Qatar in June and has since earned ten caps for his country.
Bernard was the only Sheffield Wednesday player to receive a call-up during the current international break. The centre-back started in their first Nations League win over Canada at the weekend, before coming on from the bench in the second game on Wednesday.
A 3-2 win in the second leg meant Jamaica won on away goals and sent them through to next summer’s Copa America – Bernard’s second major international tournament after they were knocked out of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup by Mexico in July.
The 23-year-old took to Instagram to share his excitement at qualifying for the competition in the United States, posting a photo of him celebrating with the caption: “Qualification for COPA AMERICA secured! For the land we love always”, followed by emojis of a Jamaica flag and a heart.
Bernard then received plenty of supportive messages from fellow footballers. Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga wrote ‘Big Dish yanaaaa’, with heart and fire emojis. Birmingham City defender Ethan Laird followed up with four heart emojis, while Luton Town’s Teden Mengi wrote ‘Top bro’ with two fire emojis.
Prior to his permanent move to Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, Bernard spent six years with Manchester United’s academy. The defender played alongside Elanga, Laird and Mengi, with the four of them all departing Old Trafford at the start of the campaign.
Will Di’Shon Bernard be back for Birmingham City?
It’s great to see Sheffield Wednesday players competing in major tournaments and impressing on international duty, though it often means Di’Shon Bernard is unavailable to play the following Championship match.
While his appearance last night was only a cameo, the Owls are set to kick off three days later and Bernard has to make the long trip back from Canada in the mean-time.
We can probably expect Bernard to be left out of the starting line-up against Birmingham, while he could also reunite with Ethan Laird at St Andrew’s.