OffsAIde
·2 June 2026
Ao Tanaka starts in Japan win, Okafor out injured, Aaronson unused

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Yahoo sportsOffsAIde
·2 June 2026

Leeds United’s Ao Tanaka started as Japan recorded a pre-World Cup friendly win on Sunday. Elsewhere, Noah Okafor missed Switzerland duty through injury and Brenden Aaronson did not feature for the USA.
According to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk, Leeds have four players heading to this summer’s World Cup, with three of their nations involved on Sunday.
Tanaka lined up from the off and played 78 minutes in a 1-0 victory over Iceland.
Selected for Switzerland’s World Cup squad, Okafor sat out the 4-1 friendly win against Jordan at St Gallen’s Kybunpark because of a calf problem. Switzerland said on Saturday he was still struggling, while head coach Murat Yakin was not concerned about his long-term availability.
The USA side that includes Aaronson faced Senegal at the Bank Of America Stadium on Sunday evening. Having married on Friday, he rejoined the camp on Saturday, was named on the bench and remained an unused substitute in a 3-2 win.
Left back Gabi Gudmundsson completes Leeds’ World Cup quartet with Sweden. They visit hosts Norway in a friendly on Monday, a 6pm kick-off.
Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk







































