Leeds United star speaks out after 'very insecure' 5/10 performance ends World Cup hope
Leeds United's Jaka Bijol will not be heading to the World Cup next year.
Leeds United defender Jaka Bijol has apologised to Slovenia fans after a 2-0 defeat at home to Kosovo on Saturday ended their World Cup hopes.
Bijol played the full 90 minutes of Saturday’s penultimate qualifier in the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana but his recent struggles at Leeds continued. The centre-back was easily beaten by Hoffenheim striker Fisnik Asllani for a sixth-minute opener and misplaced several passes.
Slovenian outlet Ekipa handed Bijol a rating of just 5/10, writing: “This time we hope Leeds manager Daniel Farke wasn’t watching the game. He almost fell on his backside when he conceded, then again. He made mistakes in his passes and was very insecure.”
Defeat leaves Slovenia third in their World Cup qualifying group, seven points behind Kosovo in the second-place play-off spot with just one game left. That means Bijol and his international teammates will not be heading to the USA, Mexico and Canada next year.
“They had their plan and they transferred it better to the field, we had no answer from the first minute,” Bijol told Ekipa. “We have to move on. I feel sorry for the Slovenian fans who were at the game; they tried very hard to support us. I’m sad for them, sad for us.
“There are always difficult moments for Slovenia; it’s never been all good, and we’ll have to get through this. It’s even more painful that it all ended in Stožice [the national stadium]. We always said that this was our fortress; we spent several years building this story.
“We are all disappointed, but we have no choice but to raise our heads and play one last match in Sweden. We will have to start writing a better story again, and I am sure we will succeed.”
Jaka Bijol’s recent Leeds United struggles continue with Slovenia
Bijol and his Slovenia teammates head to Sweden on Tuesday for what is a complete dead rubber to end their qualifying campaign. Gabriel Gudmundsson’s side have fared even worse in Group B, picking up just one point from five games after a 4-1 thumping at the hands of Switzerland on Saturday.
Farke will now be left with a decision to make at centre-back once again, having introduced Bijol to his Leeds starting line-up after Pascal Struijk’s brief wobble. The Dutchman was a little off it in decisive moments against Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur but his replacement hasn’t been much better.
Bijol enjoyed a decent Premier League debut against West Ham in October but was then part of a Leeds side who lost 3-0 at Brighton. The Slovenian then struggled at Nottingham Forest, allowing Morgan Gibbs-White to ghost into the box and score a free header despite clearly seeing the attacking midfielder moments before.
With Leeds hosting Aston Villa at Elland Road on Sunday, there are some calls for Struijk to return alongside Joe Rodon in a bid to strengthen things at the back. The Whites vice captain might also benefit from remaining at Thorp Arch during the break with no international football.