Leeds United man recovers to reprise Elland Road role in World Cup as fresh blow fears allayed
A Leeds United man whose World Cup preparation was thrown into disarray by illness recovered just in time to reprise his Elland Road role in a huge win on the world stage.
Gabriel Gudmundsson could hardly have had a worse build up to the 2026 World Cup. Having shone in his debut Premier League season for Leeds since last summer’s move from Lille, Gudmundsson damaged his hamstring in the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea. That was the last Leeds fans saw of their left wing-back as the Whites cantered to safety and finished 14th in the top flight table.
Yet having recovered from the muscle strain, Gudmundsson suffered a further blow when he had to miss training prior to Sweden’s World Cup opener against Tunisia. The 27-year-old was said to be in a ‘bad state’ according to Sweden’s press department and had to isolate from the rest of Graham Potter’s squad. But Gudmundsson recovered in the nick of time to start for the Swedes in their first Group F game. He played 65 minutes before being replaced, by which time Sweden were three goals to the good. The final score of 5-1 put Sweden in the driving seat in their group, ahead of Saturday’s meeting with the Netherlands and a June 26 encounter with Japan.
Gudmundsson signalled to the bench midway through the second half of the game that he had to come off but boss Potter indicated afterwards that he thought it was just cramp.
Group F holds significant Leeds United interest with former Elland Road favourite Crysencio Summerville now firmly established in the Dutch side and current Whites hero Ao Tanaka part of the Japan squad. Summerville scored his side’s second goal in their opener against Japan, who fought back to level twice in a 2-2 draw. Tanaka was an unused substitute in the first game.