While several Leeds United players are preparing for the Swansea City game a week from Saturday, a few of their colleagues are starring for their national teams. Ao Tanaka became the first White to qualify for next year’s World Cup and another player on Leeds’ books caught the eye with his performance on Thursday night.
Daniel Farke and his Leeds United players are slowly getting back to the groove as they prepare to host Swansea at Elland Road once the Championship season resumes in a little over a week.
The full squad will only reassemble next week once the internationals are over but a few Leeds stars are making a name for themselves for their national team and grabbing the spotlight.
Tanaka helped Japan beat Bahrain this week and become the first team to book their place in the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
And one more player, who is on Leeds’ books still, put out his best against one of the top teams of international football.
Leeds United loanee embarrassed AC Milan star on the international stage
Kristensen has not been at Leeds since 2023 and is currently on loan at Eintracht Frankfurt, where he has emerged as one of their most important players.
He has taken his club form to the international level and the defender was brilliant as Denmark beat Portugal 1-0 on Thursday night in a big upset.
Rasmus Hojlund scored the winning goal but it was Kristensen who caught the eye with his solid defensive performance against the Portuguese.
He is known for his attacking forays from right-back but he showed a different facet of his game and kept Portugal star Rafael Leao quiet throughout the clash.
The Dane didn’t give a sniff to the AC Milan star. He completed the joint-most tackles of any Denmark player – four – he also used the ball smartly and calmly while maintaining a 92 percent pass completion rate.
Leeds should get a good fee for his departure
Eintracht Frankfurt have already decided to sign the defender on a permanent deal from Leeds in the summer transfer window.
The German club have an option to buy him for a fee in the region of €12m but they have been keen to renegotiate the deal and sign him for a knocked-down price.
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A deal is believed to be in place for the defender to move to Eintracht on a permanent transfer for a fee of around €6m. However, a move has not been finalised yet.
Thursday night’s performance should convince Leeds to push Eintracht for more money and the Whites must maximise his value from the sale in the summer transfer window.
