International manager heaps praise on Leeds United star who has just 27 Championship minutes this season
Leeds United’s Swiss defender got his first international cap last week.
Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin singled out Isaac Schmidt for praise following his 67-minute international debut on Friday evening.
Leeds United defender Schmidt got just over an hour of international football under his belt as Switzerland drew 1-1 in a friendly against Northern Ireland in Belfast. The 25-year-old was lively going forward from right-back and, as has been the case in FA Cup appearances for his club, popped up in intelligent positions and linked up well with teammates.
Schmidt even came close to a dream debut goal shortly after half-time but his back-post effort was well blocked by Huddersfield Town defender Brodie Spencer, while another low cross from the full-back went un-met. Despite being brought off mid-way through the second-half, Leeds’ summer signing from St Gallen more than doubled his 27 Championship minutes this season in one international appearance, and seemingly did enough to catch the eye of his manager.
Switzerland boss on Isaac Schmidt
"I really liked Isaac!” Yakin told Swiss outlet Blick. “He was very agile, won practically all of his challenges, and also made a few offensive contributions. Games like these are valuable. We need insights for the fall.”
Those ‘insights’ are perhaps why Schmidt got his chance in the first place, with Switzerland only in friendly action this month before kicking off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign after the summer. Yakin has already admitted this camp was primarily about assessing non-regular players, with those on the fringes of international football given their shot. The expectation is there will be wholesale changes against Luxembourg on Tuesday evening.
But that does not mean Schmidt will drop out when the serious business of international football gets underway, particularly if he can continue to impress. “I felt like I was on cloud nine,” the Leeds man admitted of his debut. “But I told myself: no pressure. I can still improve and do a lot better.”
Why is Schmidt not playing for Leeds United?
Leeds’ summer transfer business ended with the £2.5million signing of Schmidt from St Gallen in Switzerland, with the versatile defender arriving into the UK as a complete unknown to most supporters. Farke described him as a ‘young and interesting’ prospect, but the 25-year-old came with top-flight and European experience.
Schmidt has looked promising in spells at Elland Road, particularly in his two FA Cup starts against League Two Harrogate Town and Championship rivals Millwall. But those fixtures were some way off the intensity that comes with fighting for a spot in next season’s Premier League.
“I think the big thing for him has been getting up to speed with English football and the intensity of training,” YEP reporter Joe Donnohue told the Inside Elland Road podcast last week. “You hear a lot from foreign players when they come to England that the intensity is massively increased and it’s something that does catch them by surprise. Reading between the lines of what Farke has had to say about him in press conferences, that's one of the things I think Leeds have been keen to get a handle on straight away.
“I think it's purely an intensity or fitness thing. Then once he has got into that position, which he probably is now, the full-back positions are pretty set. Jayden Bogle has come through a difficult early spell to be one of the most important players while Junior Firpo is undoubtedly first choice. So he just has to bide his time.”
Your next Leeds United read: Weekend international round-up as Whites star scores while another is absent from the squad