Leeds United star's 'small mistakes' World Cup admission after injury & illness nightmare
The Leeds United man has been training in red-hot conditions during the World Cup.
Leeds United defender Gabriel Gudmundsson admits the weather conditions at this summer’s World Cup have been energy-sapping for Sweden.
Gudmundsson and his international teammates are currently camped in Dallas, Texas where temperatures have regularly risen beyond 30 degrees. For the Leeds man it will have been particularly hard, given he missed five weeks with a hamstring injury before being taken ill while out in the USA.
The 27-year-old missed training sessions last week and was isolated in a hotel room, but returned on the Friday before playing 66 minutes in a 5-1 thumping of Tunisia. Sweden face favourites to qualify the Netherlands on Saturday evening, thankfully in the air conditioned NRG Stadium in Houston.
“This was absolutely the hottest training session I've ever been in,” Gudmundsson told the Sweden Herald ahead of that big group stage meeting. “It was really hot today, I have to say. It's like everything stands still when you have the ball.
“We've started to get used to it a bit but it was hot today. There will be small mistakes, the energy will run out faster. So it will be nice to get some air conditioning in the upcoming match.”
Saturday’s game between Sweden and the Netherlands could throw up an interesting battle for Leeds fans. Gudmundsson would be expected to start at left wing-back for Graham Potter’s side while the Dutch right-wing has been occupied by Crysencio Summerville.
The former Leeds man started on that side against Japan and scored his first international goal midway through the second-half, producing a curling left-footed finish on the way to a 2-2 draw. Summerville looks set to play an important role for the Dutch in what could be a breakthrough tournament for himself.
Gudmundsson and Sweden probably need just a draw to virtually guarantee their progression into the knockout stages, thanks to that convincing win over Tunisia. Victory would all but secure top-spot in Group F and do a favour to one of the left-back’s Leeds teammates.
Ao Tanaka’s Japan are currently level with the Netherlands on one point from their stalemate but will be expected to beat Tunisia. That would then leave it all on the line when Sweden face Japan in the final round of fixtures.