Gudmundsson returns to Leeds United with a broad smile while others did not experience as much joy during their international ventures
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
12:45, 02 Apr 2026
Gabriel Gudmundsson celebrates Sweden's World Cup qualification
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Gabriel Gudmundsson celebrates Sweden's World Cup qualification(Image: Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)
Leeds United had some 12 senior players out on international duty this break, including Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The striker earned his first England cap for five years when he came on in the second half of Friday’s 1-1 draw with Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay, missing a free header during his 35-minute spell.
He was among those who left the England camp after that game, something that Thomas Tuchel had pre-scheduled. Whether his particular exit was pre-planned or not, the jury is still out on whether he makes the final cut for the World Cup.
It is therefore hard to determine whether he is a winner or a loser of this international break. Ao Tanaka of Japan and Jaka Bijol of Slovenia meanwhile played in friendlies too and did no harm to their international prospects.
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Here are how the other international Leeds players got on during their time away with their countries.
Winners
Gabriel Gudmundsson
Gudmundsson had the best international break by far, with the left-back helping Sweden qualify for the World Cup. He had picked up an injury scare in the play-off semi-final against Ukraine but played the full 90 minutes as the Swedes beat Poland 3-2 in the final.
Anton Stach
While he only got 10 minutes across the two games, Stach earned his first cap for Germany since 2022 when he came on in a 4-3 win over Switzerland. He was not used against Ghana and so World Cup inclusion remains in the balance but he is at least in the picture, when he once was not.
Noah Okafor
Okafor was a late call-up as an injury replacement in the Switzerland squad, which ended his 16-month exile. He did not get onto the pitch against Germany and left the squad afterwards due to injury precautions but boss Murat Yakin, with whom he held a long rift, spoke highly of him during his time in camp ahead of possible World Cup selection.
Losers
Karl Darlow, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu and Daniel James
The Welsh quartet suffered World Cup semi-final defeat heartbreak on penalties against Bosnia in Cardiff last Friday. It had been going well with James scoring a cracking opener, Darlow making a tremendous save and Ampadu leading the way wearing the captain’s armband.
But it was not to be, with Darlow coming out for a corner he was always unlikely to get and allowing Edin Dzeko to head home an equaliser. Darlow would save a spot kick in the shoot-out but misses from Welsh colleagues ultimately undid the country’s World Cup finals hopes.
Brenden Aaronson
Aaronson is expected to be in the US squad for a home World Cup, but there is still a sense he needs to fully secure his spot. He earned just 11 minutes against Portugal having sat on the bench against Belgium, this after starting against Paraguay in November. Perhaps he’s been handed a timely reminder to keep his levels high.
Joel Piroe
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Piroe earned his international debut for Suriname this break, a poignant moment for him. The nation were always unlikely to beat Bolivia and did go down 2-1 in their World Cup play-off semi-final clash but not before Piroe missed a glorious one-on-one chance inside the box.