"That's when" - Leeds United player sets World Cup date target with 'goal' not dream after call
A Leeds player has set his sights on a World Cup target.
Versatile Leeds United ace Isaac Schmidt has set his sights on a World Cup date which has gone from a dream to a “goal” upon a recent call.
Swiss defender Schmidt joined Leeds from St Gallen last summer and had to settle for just 71 minutes of Championship football during the 2024-25 campaign as Jayden Bogle and Junior Firpo excelled in the full-back decisions.
Schmidt’s only two starts arrived in the FA Cup but the 25-year-old still received a call-up to the Switzerland squad for two March friendlies and bagged his first outings for his country at senior international level with minutes against both Northern Ireland and Luxembourg.
Switzerland, under boss Murat Yakin, are now bidding to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and Schmidt has set a clear goal of being part of the squad that gets there.
“Oh yes,” said Schmidt in an interview with Blick, asked about the World Cup.
“It's always been a dream. My cousins and I were talking about it in Lausanne when I was in the under-21s, saying to each other: ‘2026, World Cup.’
“That's when I started thinking about it. And today, it's more of a goal than a dream.”