What Leeds United have learned about Noah Okafor's World Cup campaign and why it matters

Leeds United officially have no players left at the World Cup after Noah Okafor and Switzerland were eliminated from the tournament.

The Whites had several stars out representing their respective nations in North America this summer, which is always interesting for the club and fans to pay attention to.

Ao Tanaka, Brenden Aaronson and Gabriel Gudmundsson all reached the knockout stages of the World Cup with their respective countries, but it was Okafor's nation that went the furthest.

Switzerland were beaten 3-1 in the quarter-final by Argentina after extra time, as Murat Yakin once again opted against playing the Leeds star.

The Swiss boss made six changes and was always looking like he was hoping for his side to hold out until a potential penalty shootout after going down to 10 men in the second half.

However, Switzerland are out, and Leeds have some interesting thoughts before Okafor returns to Thorp Arch soon.

Noah Okafor's World Cup lessons to Leeds: Return date, relationships, stock and more

It looked like Okafor wasn't going to get the call-up to the World Cup squad at one point, but that all changed shortly before the competition started.

The versatile forward has had previous rows with current Switzerland boss Yakin, but it appeared the two had separated their differences after he was picked to fly out to the World Cup.

Okafor played just 19 minutes in one performance against Algeria for his nation, which raises the question of whether the feud with Yakin is truly over.

Despite his ability to play on the left and up top, Yakin opted for the likes of Nottingham Forest's Dan Ndoye, Sevilla's Ruben Vargas and Burnley's Zeki Amdouni over him.

Now that the 26-year-old is set to return home, it may be a few weeks before he links back up with Daniel Farke for pre-season, given Tanaka was handed a three-week break.

But unlike Okafor, Tanaka actually played, so the former may have a reduced break before being called back for duty.

Another point for Leeds to assess is that Okafor's stock will have risen no further after this tournament, though there are no plans to sell him anyway.

Regardless, there are still positives to take.

The two bonuses Leeds have after Okafor's World Cup

The obvious positive is that Okafor has not picked up any reported injuries and is set for another pre-season under Farke.

The Whites will have every hope that he starts next season in the same manner that he finished last term.

Another positive for Leeds is that Yakin is yet to step down or be sacked by Switzerland, which bodes well for their chances of keeping Okafor fit over future international breaks.

But so long as Yakin is there, Okafor's chances of playing for his nation are ultimately weakened.