Daniel Farke will be watching on nervously over the coming days as numerous members of his Leeds United squad represent their respective countries.
Ao Tanaka kicked off proceedings on Thursday afternoon for Japan after coming off the bench with just under 20 minutes to play in a 7-0 win over China.
Tanaka impressed in his brief cameo as he completed 28 of his 30 attempted passes as Japan kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a very comfortable three points.
But he is just one of the several Leeds players away on international duty this week, with plenty of international action to come for Farke‘s squad before their next game against Burnley.
Wilfried Gnonto, Mateo Joseph, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Karl Darlow, Charlie Crew, Junior Firpo, Ilia Gruev and Manor Solomon could all get some minutes for their respective countries.
What Leeds star Wilfried Gnonto has just done for Italy U21s
In fact, one player from that list has already been in action this afternoon and that is Gnonto for Italy U21s.
Leeds star Gnonto and the rest of his young Azzurri teammates are coming up against San Marino at the time of writing but his involvement in the match is already over.
With the score 2-0 heading into the break, manager Carmine Nunziata opted to bring off his captain Gnonto at the break.
At this stage, it is unclear whether this was tactical or injury related. However, given the score, calibre of opposition, his performance, the fact two of his teammates went off injured in the first half, and the importance of their next game, it can be assumed it was the former.
As per stats taken from Sofa Score, Gnonto enjoyed a sensational half of action without getting on the scoresheet. He completed 7/8 dribbles, 16/19 passes, 9/13 duels and had a total of 37 touches, which would suggest he practically ran the game.
Italy U21s face a pretty pivotal trip to Norway in their second game of the break on Tuesday evening, which is the penultimate fixture of their qualification for European Championships.
Gnonto getting more experience in central role after Leeds exploits
Gnonto has been given more license to drift centrally under Farke this season and that is certainly a tactic that has paid off.
His performance against Sheffield Wednesday was described as ‘unplayable’ by Jon Newsome, and it appears as though he was central again for Italy.
Gnonto was lining up in a front two alongside Francesco Pio Esposito and this can only be beneficial for his return to Leeds, with more experience in those areas.
Though the level of opposition has to be taken into account, clearly it is a role in which he thrives upon.
Leave a Reply