Noah Okafor turned out to be an inspired signing for Leeds United last summer after the Swiss winger came into his own in the second half of the season to keep the Whites in the Premier League.
The Swiss winger scored eight goals in 28 Premier League appearances for Leeds and was one of the most effective forwards for the Whites.
His brace against Manchester United in a historic win at Old Trafford probably sealed his cult status among Leeds fans. However, his performances also powered him back into the Switzerland squad.
However, the winger remained an unused substitute in Switzerland’s 1-1 draw against Qatar on Saturday evening. Gary Neville’s criticism of the Swiss forward line may be good news for the Leeds star.
Noah Okafor should be pleased with what Gary Neville has to say about Switzerland
Gary Neville slammed the Switzerland forward line of Ruben Vargas, Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye for not being good enough in front of the goal.
He insisted that they did not have the required class, which was evident from their inability to convert the plethora of chances the Swiss created during the game.
Qatar punished by scoring a late equaliser to steal a point from a game that Switzerland should have finished off much earlier.
Neville said on ITV: “I look at the Switzerland front line here of Vargas, Ndoye and Embolo, and they are just a level below what you would regard as class.
“You just think with that bit extra class, those lads up front would have had three or four goals between them in the first half alone against Qatar.
“They need to be a lot more clinical because they wasted a lot of good chances. I think the forward line needs to do better in front of the goal in future games.
“There were so many poor finishes, and those three in front of the goal are just not ruthless enough. They are just way below that top level.
“They had 25 chances, and their only goal came from a penalty.”
Dan Ndoye, ahead of the Leeds forward, made zero sense
Okafor emerged as one of the best attackers in the Premier League towards the end of the season and should be starting for Switzerland in the World Cup.
Dan Ndoye had a torrid season at Nottingham Forest and has not scored at the club level since last October. However, he started over Okafor against Qatar.
Neville is right that the current Swiss forward line lacks the class to perform at the very top, and on the bench, they have a player who proved himself in the Premier League last season.
Okafor should feel good about his chances of returning to the starting eleven soon, given how poor the other Swiss forwards looked against Qatar.
