Noah Okafor opens up on Switzerland struggles as Leeds star snubbed

Leeds United man Noah Okafor has endured a difficult World Cup with Switzerland.

Making his return to the national team earlier this year, the Whites attacker has struggled to get back in the team.

The Swiss secured their knockout spot with a draw against Qatar, and wins against Bosnia and Canada.

But, they have done so without Okafor, who is one of three players not to register a single minute under Murat Yakin so far.

The 25-year-old scored eight times in the Premier League last term, performing excellently during the run-in.

Responding to his baffling lack of minutes, Okafor has remained surprisingly calm given the circumstances.

Noah Okafor takes diplomatic approach as lack of minutes questioned

Alongside Eray Comert and Aurele Amenda, Okafor is one of three to not see any playing time at the World Cup.

Ahead of the round of 32 clash with Algeria on Friday, the Leeds man was surprisingly selected to take part in the press conference - naturally knowing what questions would come his way.

Reacting, he said: "Of course I'm a bit annoyed or p****d off - whatever you want to call it. As a footballer, you're in the wrong profession if you want to sit on the bench."

"I spoke with Muri [Murat Yakin] again this morning. He explained to me why I didn't come on," he added.

Okafor appeared for the Schweizer Nati for the first time in over two years before the tournament, but is yet to play a minute since the opening match - raising questions as to why.

The strange reason that could be holding Okafor back

Due to an incident at Euro 2024, Okafor has not featured for the Nati since.

Publicly criticising the national team setup's lack of communication, he would go directly to director Pierluigi Tami to question his lack of playing time at the tournament.

As a result, he would not meet up with his compatriots again until the recent March break, when he would apologise to his teammates.

Recovering from injury issues at the time, he would not feature, but now that he is back fully fit, he may be questioning whether the incident of two years ago is impacting his chances under Yakin moving forward.

Okafor proved sensational at the back end of the season for Leeds, but it seems that this is not exactly appreciated in the international camp.