Leeds United World Cup storylines featuring Marcelo Bielsa, Raphinha and an England rival | OneFootball

The 2026 World Cup gets underway tonight across the USA, Canada and Mexico, and Leeds United fans have plenty to follow.

According to yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk, four current Leeds players are involved, with Gabriel Gudmundsson’s Sweden sharing a group with Ao Tanaka’s Japan, Brenden Aaronson with the USA and Noah Okafor with Switzerland.

Marcelo Bielsa took charge of Uruguay in May 2023 and began brightly, beating Argentina then Brazil in successive games. A fallout with Luis Suarez preceded a poor run capped by a 5-1 loss to the USA in November, after which he held a two-hour press conference and said he would see out the World Cup. It is his third World Cup after Japan 2002 and South Africa 2010, and Uruguay are in Group H with Spain, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.

Raphinha did not debut for Brazil until 2021, aged 24, and after a £55million move to Barcelona he is now among the world’s best, having recovered from a hamstring issue. With Carlo Ancelotti in charge, Brazil are among the most feared, joined by Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Igor Thiago in attack. This is his second World Cup after Qatar 2022, and Brazil are favourites to progress from Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.

Thomas Christiansen offers another Leeds link. After leaving in 2018 he briefly led Union Saint-Gilloise, then took Panama in July 2020 and has overseen only their second World Cup qualification. Panama are in Group L with Croatia, Ghana and England.

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk