Gabriel Gudmundsson recovered from injury battles and an illness to start for Sweden in their 5-1 win over Tunisia in their World Cup opener on Sunday night.
The left-back, who was one of the signings of last summer at Elland Road, missed the last few weeks of the season due to an injury. However, it also gave him time to prepare for the World Cup campaign.
However, he spent several days locked up in his hotel room in the last week due to an illness, and there were serious concerns about his World Cup fate.
The defender returned to training just in time, and Graham Potter had enough trust in the left wing-back to start against Tunisia in the World Cup opener.
Swedish media have praised Gabriel Gudmundsson
Gabriel Gudmundsson was taken off after the hour mark as he was not fit enough to complete 90 minutes after spending almost a week with an illness.
However, he delivered a solid display and earned a respectable 3/5 rating from Fotbollskanalen following Sweden’s emphatic 5-1 victory over Tunisia on Sunday night.
They insisted that, given his injury and illness ahead of the World Cup, it was an acceptable performance marked by defensive solidity.
They acknowledged that it was clear that the Leeds star was not completely fit and had to be taken off at the 64th minute.
The Swedish media outlet wrote in their review of Gudmundsson’s performance: “A clearly acceptable effort.
“Had a lot of control defensively, and took his runs along the line, but seemed to be in pain.
“Has otherwise been ill and signalled for a substitution himself after an hour.”
He was brilliant for Leeds last season
Leeds needed a replacement for Victor Firpo last summer, and no one knew what to expect when they signed Gudmundsson for £10m from French club Lille.
However, the Swedish left-back wasted little time establishing himself as one of the certainties in the team early in the 2025/26 season.
He showed more defensive awareness and solidity than Firpo. However, there were question marks about his ability to contribute in the final third.
That was removed once Farke shifted formation and played the Swede as a wing-back. He regularly bombed forward and was a player to reckon with in attack.
Gudmundsson’s ability to seamlessly accept a different role in the team and his overall consistency made him one of the signings of last summer at Elland Road.
A good World Cup will only add more sheen to his reputation ahead of next season with Leeds.
