Noah Okafor development at World Cup raises 'worry' as warning sent over Leeds star

Noah Okafor continues to be snubbed by Switzerland at the World Cup, with many now questioning the Leeds United star's treatment.

The 26-year-old has had a rather up-and-down time of things as a senior Swiss international.

Okafor was also overlooked entirely at Euro 2024, despite being part of the squad.

After being shut out of the picture entirely, he was recalled by manager Murat Yakin and is part of their squad once again.

However, Okafor may well have been better off staying at home given his lack of action so far in North America.

And even those in Okafor's homeland are starting to raise their eyebrows over his situation.

Blerim Dzemaili questions Switzerland's treatment of Noah Okafor

Okafor was an unused substitute as Switzerland were held 1-1 by Qatar in their Group B opener.

What made that more surprising is that Yakin's side were looking for a second goal yet turned to others, before being pegged back.

It was a similar story against Bosnia-Herzegovina as Okafor watched on from the sidelines throughout, albeit his side did win 4-1.

And there was again no action for Okafor in the 2-1 win over Canada last time out.

Even in the pre-tournament friendlies he only got 10 minutes of action, coming as a second-half substitute against Australia.

Ex-Switzerland player Blerim Dzemaili is surprised by this development, telling Swiss outlet Blick: "I’m among those who can’t quite understand why Noah Okafor hasn’t played a single minute so far.

"I was one of the people who said that if a player doesn’t behave properly, he shouldn’t be called up to the national team. I was also one of those who said Noah Okafor had to sort out his behaviour before he deserved a place in the national team.

"But now I don’t understand it, either. And there’s something else you have to be careful about, something that worries me a little. Murat seems to want to keep everyone happy.

"He gives one player a game, then another, and I’m almost afraid it could have a boomerang effect, that you end up with far too many unhappy players.”

What Dzemaili says is spot on, in that the squad harmony is surely not being helped by Okafor constantly being overlooked.

However, there is still a chance for that to change.

What's next for Okafor and Switzerland?

Switzerland topped Group B - perhaps justifying the manager's stance in constantly shunning Okafor.

As a reward for that, they now face Algeria in Vancouver in the early hours of Friday morning.

If they win that, as many would expect them to, there is a meeting with either Colombia or Ghana up next - again in Vancouver.

It is certainly a favourable set of fixtures to reach the quarter-finals, but whether Okafor will have any part to play remains to be seen.