Credit: Imago

Scott Mason

Tue 2 June 2026 13:10, UK

Leeds United will have quite a few players at this summer’s World Cup, with Gabriel Gudmundsson poised to feature for Sweden.

The Whites’ defender has been exceptional for the Elland Road outfit, and his call-up by Graham Potter would have come as no surprise.

Sweden have been drawn quite a difficult group, with the Netherlands and Japan among their competitors in Group F.

Gudmundsson and Ao Tanaka could be reunited on the world stage, but with the former currently injured, he could have fears over his role.

However, ahead of Gudmundsson’s World Cup campaign, after Sweden’s latest warm-up fixture, he may have to fear his role.

Why Gabriel Gudmundsson will have fears about Sweden role

Gudmundsson is currently out injured and is expected to miss Sweden’s second and final World Cup preparation game.

However, he will be fit in time for the first group game in the early hours of 15 June against Tunisia.

Going into the tournament with an injury is not an ideal position for the 27-year-old to find himself in, and Potter may look to keep a consistent set of players from these friendlies in this starting lineup.

These World Cup warm-ups are designed to build momentum heading into the competition, and 23-cap Gudmundsson will have none of that.

With no chance to feature in any of the World Cup warm-ups with his return slated a few days after the friendly versus Greece, Gudmundsson may have some fears over where he lies in the pecking order.

In particular, he would have been keeping an eye on how teammate and left-back rival Daniel Svensson got on.

How did Daniel Svensson perform against Norway?

Gudmundsson’s competitor Daniel Svensson had quite a busy evening against Norway, securing 10 defensive contributions in 90 minutes.

Additionally, he was also excellent in possession, maintaining a 95 per cent passing accuracy and having just three unsuccessful touches out of 58.

Overall, data hub Sofascore ended up awarding him a 7.2 match rating, which is quite impressive considering he is a defender who conceded three.

So while Sweden did lose without him, the player in his position seemingly had one of the better performances.

Gudmundsson will want the best for his country, but he will also have some fears over whether he can usurp Svensson after coming back from injury.

Interestingly, Svensson has also been linked with a move to Leeds, so Gudmundsson may have to compete with him at both club and international levels soon.