A handful of Leeds United players will depart for international duty this week, as some hope to secure their 2026 World Cup hopes. Unfortunately for them, the Whites did not go into the break on the right note.
Leeds lost their last match to Spurs, suffering their first home defeat of the season. It was yet another game that the Whites could have gotten all three points, but the match did not go their way. Converting chances is still a problem for Daniel Farke’s side – they missed a lot of opportunities to put the game to bed.
But the Leeds boss insists that sooner or later, luck will go their way and they will start winning games.
QUIZ: Can you name these 10 former Leeds United midfielders?
Bulgaria to enforce new rules after Gruev incident
Ilia Gruev Credit: Imago
The last international break was a pretty eventful one for Ilia Gruev. The Bulgarian midfielder was involved in some incidents that made the news last month; with one being an altercation with Spain’s Lamine Yamal during a game. He later brushed it off and praised the Barcelona star after the game.
Gruev was also in the middle of a national team dispute; he was reportedly dropped from the team to face Georgia after a locker room confrontation. He was later reinstated by the FA president. The midfielder was benched, and only played in the second half.
Bulgaria boss Ilia Iliev was sacked after the incident and replaced by Alexander Dimitrov. In Dimitrov’s recent press conference, he revealed that new rules and sanctions will be put in place to prevent future incidents like what happened last time out.
“The first rule is to have human and friendly relationships. At the same time, discipline, dedication, and discretion. Rules will be discussed with the players. Fines will be proposed by the players,” he said, via the FA’s YouTube.
Leeds United star’s World Cup hopes are fading
It remains unclear whether Gruev could face repercussions from the incident, but Bulgaria have two huge games ahead of them. They face Turkey in their next game, and will have to win to stand any chance of World Cup qualification.
Bulgaria sit bottom of their group with zero points from two games. They can still qualify, but what happens in this international break will be crucial.
