Leeds United At The World Cup: Four Whites Stars Flying Flag | OneFootball

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Leeds United have four players at the World Cup, in what is another continuing sign of just how much the Whites have progressed in recent years. It gives fans an extra stake in the tournament, as well as leaving Daniel Farke biting his fingernails hoping that they avoid injury and perhaps even avoid playing too well, lest it might lead to unwanted approaches in the summer transfer window.

More than a smattering of Leeds players have appeared at the World Cup throughout the club’s history and four more are set to add their names to that illustrious roll call this summer.

With the 2022 World Cup taking place in November and December, and Kalvin Phillips having transferred to Manchester City that summer, Leeds have not had representation in the England squads at the showpiece event since 2002. The Whites had Danny Mills, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler and Nigel Martyn in Japan and South Korea, equalling the total from 1970, when Jack Charlton, Norman Hunter, Terry Cooper and Allan Clarke failed to defend England’s title after the holders were knocked out in the quarter-finals by West Germany.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin came close to ending that streak, but Thomas Tuchel eventually preferred Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins to the Leeds striker.

Anton Stach might consider himself unlucky, as Julian Nagelsmann has opted for a Bundesliga-heavy midfield, with Liverpool‘s Florian Wirtz and Brighton’s Pascal Gross the only midfielders based outside Germany’s top flight to make the squad.

Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Daniel James and Karl Darlow faced disappointment with Wales, going into the playoffs as favourites, but it will be Edin Dzeko’s side that now face Noah Okafor’s Switzerland at the tournament proper.

If Wales had qualified, Leeds could have matched their biggest-ever World Cup contingent of eight players, equalling the total set in 2002 when the Irish trio of Gary Kelly, Ian Harte and Robbie Keane, along with South Africa’s Lucas Radebe, joined the English quartet at the tournament.

Joel Piroe made his international debut for Suriname in their inter-confederation playoff defeat to Bolivia. However, the South American side also failed to reach the World Cup, later being knocked out by Iraq and missing out on the summer tournament.

Even with Matthijs de Ligt ruled out of the tournament, Pascal Struijk, despite a stellar season under Farke, was not expecting a late call-up to the Netherlands squad. Still awaiting his first senior cap, the Leeds defender was a long way from following in the footsteps of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink at the 1998 World Cup.

Inside Futbol look at Leeds’ representatives at the World Cup and their key games.

Gabriel Gudmundsson – Sweden – Group F

Gabriel Gudmundsson has had a breakout season with Leeds after signing from Lille last summer and being dubbed one of the club’s better arrivals. Gudmundsson proved crucial to Leeds’ form post-November, as the left-back expressed confidence in his side’s chances heading into the winter period.

The Swede also showed strong mental fortitude in bouncing back from a costly mistake against Fulham early in the season.

Sweden took a circuitous route to the World Cup after finishing bottom of their group behind Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia, with Gudmundsson describing the qualification campaign as ‘shameful’.

Thankfully for Sweden, they were handed a second bite at the cherry through their Nations League ranking and capitalised on it, seeing off Ukraine and Poland to secure their place at the tournament.

The Swedish side boast plenty of firepower in attack through Alexander Isak, Anthony Elanga, Viktor Gyokeres, and Benjamin Nygren, but they appear considerably less convincing in defence and midfield. Graham Potter will be hard-pressed to guide his side deep into the tournament, let alone match or surpass Sweden’s best-ever World Cup finish in 1958, when they ended as runners-up to Brazil and a 17-year-old Pele.

Sweden face Tunisia on 15th June at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Mexico, before taking on the Netherlands on 20th June at NRG Stadium in Houston and Japan on 26th June at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Gudmundsson will hope to be involved in all three clashes.

Ao Tanaka – Japan – Group F

Ao Tanaka finished the season strongly after playing a peripheral role for much of the campaign. That proved enough to earn him a place in the national squad captained by Liverpool’s Wataru Endo, while Sporting Lisbon’s Hidemasa Morita, with whom Leeds have been linked, was a surprise omission from Japan’s final 26-man squad.

Japan also boast the likes of Crystal Palace‘s Daichi Kamada, Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo and Celtic forward Daizen Maeda, who has enjoyed a rich vein of goalscoring form. They could represent good value to match or better their best-ever World Cup showing: reaching the Round of 16, a feat they have achieved on four occasions. Japan cruised through their qualification group and became the first non-host nation to secure a place at the tournament on 20th March.

Tanaka and Japan begin their campaign against the Netherlands on 14th June at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, before facing Tunisia on 21st June at Estadio BBVA in Guadalupe, Mexico, and Sweden on 26th June at AT&T Stadium.

The meeting between Tunisia and Japan will be the 1,000th match in World Cup history.

Japan will also be facing the Swedes for the eighth time in their history, with the most recent meeting ending in a draw in a 2002 friendly. The fixture also has historical significance, with a clash at the 1936 Summer Olympics marking Japan as the first Asian team to participate in either the World Cup or the Olympic Games. It also had the distinction of being the first time an Asian team emerged victorious, as Sweden fell to a 3-2 defeat. For Leeds fans, however, it is enough that the fixture is one in which Tanaka and Gudmundsson are likely to feature.

Noah Okafor – Switzerland – Group B

Noah Okafor has been another successful summer arrival, with former top flight striker Dean Ashton describing the Swiss forward as ‘head and shoulders’ above the rest in terms of quality.

Okafor’s involvement at the World Cup was thrown into doubt after national team director Pierluigi Tami expressed his displeasure at the forward airing his frustration over non-selection in the media rather than addressing the issue directly with coach Murat Yakin. However, Tami’s stance softened in February, paving the way for Okafor’s eventual call-up.

Yakin, who can call upon the experience of Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Denis Zakaria, and Granit Xhaka, might reasonably set a quarter-final appearance as the target, matching Switzerland’s best World Cup performances in 1934, 1938, and 1954.

Switzerland are scheduled to face Qatar at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on 13th June, Bosnia and Herzegovina at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on 18th June, and Canada at BC Place in Vancouver on 24th June.

Okafor could make a real impact in any, or all, of those games, as he will be brimming with confidence from his Leeds season.

Brenden Aaronson – United States – Group D

Brenden Aaronson, who has scored nine goals for his country, has earned a place in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad despite the former Tottenham Hotspur manager having used 61 different players across his 24 matches in charge.

Aaronson has endured an up-and-down season. After responding impressively to early criticism with a run of strong performances, his form and output tailed off towards the latter stages of the campaign, reopening the door to his critics. The Leeds midfielder is unlikely to be joined at his home World Cup by his brother Paxten, however.

Former Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun, Fulham target Ricardo Pepi, and Coventry City’s Haji Wright will join the Leeds attacker in representing the United States at the tournament.

The United States will host Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on 13th June, before facing Australia at Lumen Field in Seattle on 19th June and Turkey at SoFi Stadium on 26th June. While they remain strong contenders to progress from their group, even the most optimistic supporters would struggle to envision a repeat of their third-place finish from the inaugural World Cup in 1930.

25th June could see Brenden Aaronson, Ao Tanaka, and Gabriel Gudmundsson all in action, leaving Leeds fans wishing the triple-header fell on a weekend rather than a Thursday.

Potential World Cup winners

All four of the Whites’ players’ respective nations might be expected to progress from their groups, as each can count at least one other country weaker than themselves, while eight of the 12 third-placed teams will also advance.

However, it would be nothing short of miraculous if the exclusive club of Leeds players to have lifted the World Cup trophy, currently comprising only Jack Charlton and Norman Hunter, were to gain a third member this summer.

For Farke and Leeds’ recruitment team, no World Cup game will go to waste though, as they check up on existing targets and perhaps uncover players they had previously not had on their radar.