Three Leeds United-linked World Cup stories to look out for including Marcelo Bielsa, Raphinha & England rival
The 2026 World Cup gets underway tonight and there is plenty to pique the interest of Leeds United fans.
Leeds United fans will have a keen eye on this summer’s World Cup whether supporting England, Scotland or just watching the drama unfold.
Four current Leeds players will be involved in the tournament held across the USA, Canada and Mexico. Gabriel Gudmundsson’s Sweden are in the same group as Ao Tanaka’s Japan, while Brenden Aaronson is with co-hosts the USA and Noah Okafor has joined up with the Switzerland squad.
Games involving those four nations will be of obvious interest to Whites fans but the Elland Road connections don’t end there. Below, the YEP takes a look at X Leeds links to keep an eye on this summer...
Marcelo Bielsa
An obvious one, and one many fans have kept watch of ever since Bielsa took charge of Uruguay in May 2023. The much-loved former Leeds boss enjoyed a promising start at his new job, beating Argentina and Brazil in back-to-back games for the first time since 1959 during his first year, but things have gone south since.
Bielsa’s public fallout with senior superstar Luis Suarez was followed by a string of poor performances, culminating in a 5-1 defeat to the USA in November last year. There were calls for the Argentinian to be sacked but in typical fashion, he instead held a two-hour press conference answering all questions before insisting he’d see out the World Cup.
This summer will be Bielsa’s third World Cup in a third different continent, having coached Argentina during Japan 2002 and then Chile during South Africa 2010. Uruguay are in Group H with Spain, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.
Raphinha
Raphinha might have Leeds and Bielsa to thank for his place in the Brazil squad this summer, having never represented his country until a debut in 2021, aged 24, as rewards for his Elland Road form. It’s now unthinkable the winger would miss out following a £55million move to Barcelona he’s become one of the world’s best.
There were concerns over whether Raphinha would make the World Cup earlier this year but he’s recovered from a hamstring injury in good time. With former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti now in charge, Brazil are among the most feared nations with the former Leeds man joined by the likes of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Igor Thiago in a feared frontline.
This will be Raphinha’s second World Cup after the 2022 tournament in Qatar, and he’ll hope to open his account in the major tournament having drawn a blank during that previous edition. Brazil are the favourites to qualify from Group C alongside Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.
Thomas Christiansen
Spanish coach Christiansen won’t be at the forefront of many Leeds fans’ memories but his World Cup story is an interesting one. After his Elland Road exit in 2018 came a brief spell in charge of Union Saint-Gilloise before starting his current job as Panama boss in July 2020, overseeing just their second ever qualification for the major tournament.
Los Canaleros have been steadily climbing the FIFA rankings under Christiansen, going from 78th in 2020 to just 33rd heading into this summer’s tournament, and the 53-year-old has proven a decent international manager. There aren’t too many recognisable names in his squad, with Norwich City defender Jose Cordoba the only UK-based player.
Panama’s previous World Cup journey was in Russia in 2018 and ended with three defeats from three, so they’ll be hoping to register their first ever points this summer. The Central American nation are in Group L with Croatia, Ghana and of course, England.