Leeds United @ EURO 2020
Pontus Jansson was Leeds United's sole representative at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. Since France's 4-2 victory over Croatia made Les Blues world champions for only the second time, quite a fair bit has changed at Elland Road. And, on this occasion the Whites will be represented by no less than seven players, for seven different nations at this summers European Championships.
Marcelo Bielsa's arrival in West Yorkshire in the summer of 2018 has already triggered a chain of record-breaking events, but the upcoming UEFA Euro 2020 (or 2021, depending on which you prefer) will see a number of "first's" in the clubs history.
For example, Leeds will be represented at a major international tournament for the first time by players of five different nationalities; Diego Llorente for Spain, Ezgjan Alioski for North Macedonia, Mateusz Klich for Poland, Robin Koch for Germany & Tyler Roberts for Wales.
Meanwhile, Kalvin Phillips is aiming to become the first Leeds player to represent England at a major tournament since Rio Ferdinand, Danny Mills, Robbie Fowler and Nigel Martyn at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan & South Korea. And, club captain Liam Cooper will be representing Scotland.
So here's the full list of who made the cut, with a nod to those who didn't:
Going
Ezgjan Alioski
Despite being widely expected to leave the club this summer (contract will expire during the tournament, on June 30th), Gjanni Alioski has been selected to represent North Macedonia at the Euro's this summer, and will therefore be one of seven Leeds players at the tournament.
Alioski made a total of 38 appearances for the Whites this season in all competitions, bagging three goals and three assists, playing predominantly out of position as a left-back.
Leeds signed Alioski from Swiss side FC Lugano in 2017 for around £2.25m, and he has since gone on to make 171 appearances for the club.
Alioski, 29, boasts seven goals from his 41 appearances for his country prior to the tournament, and will likely be heavily involved as North Macedonia face a tough task to qualify from a difficult Group C containing the Netherlands, Ukraine & Austria.
North Macedonia kick-off their campaign against Austria on Sunday 13th June (5pm KO) in Bucharest, before facing Ukraine again in Bucharest on Thursday 17th June (2pm KO), and rounding off the group with a tough game against group favourites Holland in Amsterdam on Monday 21st June (5pm KO).
Liam Cooper
29-year-old, club captain Cooper will be part of the Scotland squad looking to derail England's hopes of qualifying from a strong Group D.
As always, Cooper did struggle with injuries at times this season, whilst also missing three games through suspension after receiving a straight red card for a high follow-through challenge on Gabriel Jesus in the away win over champions, Manchester City in Apiril.
The Scot made a total of 26 appearances for the Whites this season in all competitions, scoring his only goal of the season away at Old Trafford, in the 6-2 defeat to Manchester United.
Despite Leeds' defence being labelled as overly leaky in the first half of the season, Cooper played his part in keeping six of twelve Premier League clean sheets this season, and overall appears to have proved his doubters wrong, with an impressive debut campaign in the top flight for his boyhood club.
Leeds signed Cooper from Chesterfield FC in 2014 for around £675k, and he has since gone on to make 224 appearances for the team he supports.
Cooper has four caps for his country prior to the tournament, and will be hoping to have some involvement as Scotland face the daunting task of attempting to qualify from the 'group of death' including England, Croatia and the Czech Republic in Group D.
Scotland's campaign gets underway on Monday 14th June (2pm KO) as they face Czech Republic in Glasgow, before a tantalising home nations clash with England at Wembley on Friday 18th June (8pm KO), and finishing off the group stage with a difficult game against World Cup finalists Croatia in Glasgow on Tuesday 22nd June (8pm KO).
Mateusz Klich
Marcelo Bielsa granted Klich early leave with two leagues remaining upon the announcement that the 30-year-old would be joining the Poland squad for the Euro's this summer.
Klich has been a virtual everpresent for the entirety of Bielsa's three-year tenure, missing only eight of the Argentine's 140 games. The Pole is actually the most used player of Bielsa's entire coaching career.
Making 35 appearances for the Whites this season, Klich became the highest-scoring Polish player in Premier League history with his fourth goal of the season away at Turf Moor, in the recent 4-0 drubbing of Burnley.
Leeds signed Klich from FC Twente in 2017 for around £1.53m, and after a year-long spell back in the Netherlands with FC Utrecht, has since gone on to make 142 appearances for the Whites.
Klich has thirty caps for his country prior to the tournament, and has seen his playing time increase for the national team, coinciding with his increasing importance at club level with Leeds.
Poland begin their Group E campaign on Monday 14th June (5pm KO) against Slovakia in St Petersburg, before a mouth-watering clash with Spain in Seville on Saturday 19th June (8pm KO). Paulo Sousa will be hoping victory over Sweden in St Petersburg on Wednesday 23rd June (5pm KO) confirms their qualification for the knockout rounds.
Robin Koch
As with Klich, German defender Koch was also granted early leave by Bielsa, to allow the former SC Freiburg man to join up with the Germany squad for the Euro's this summer.
Koch's first season at Elland Road, since his £13m move from the Bundesliga last summer, has been hampered by a knee injury sustained in the opening day defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
Being sent for surgery in early December, after limping off only nine minutes into the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, Koch missed three months of the season; limiting him to seventeen league appearances.
Playing his part in five clean sheets, the German has struggled to reinstate himself since his recovery, partly down to the emergence of the in-form Diego Llorente. But, Koch has on occasion been used to deputise for Kalvin Phillips as the single-pivot, offering some glimpses of what next season may have in store.
Koch has seven caps for Germany prior to the tournament, and has been regularly involved when fitness has allowed, since making his debut in October 2019.
Germany will have to wait until Tuesday 15th June (8pm KO) to begin their Group F campaign, with one of the most eagerly-anticipated ties of the tournament, against world champions France. As if facing the world champions in your opening game wasn't bad enough, the Germans then have the resident European champions to contend with in their next game, as they face Portugal on Saturday 19th June (5pm KO). Joachim Low will be ending his final tournament group stage against Hungary on Wednesday 23rd June (8pm KO). All Die Mannschaft's group stage fixtures will take place in Munich.
Diego Llorente
A product of Real Madrid's academy, Llorente ended his Premier League debut season in sensational form; fully justifying his place in a Spain squad missing the likes of Sergio Ramos, following a frustrating start to life in LS11.
Leeds moved to complete the £17m signing of Llorente from Real Sociedad, after learning of Koch's knee problem. But, having arrived with a groin injury, the Spaniard had to wait until December to make his long-awaited debut, replacing his injured predecessor after nine minutes at Stamford Bridge (and perhaps before he was fully ready to do so).
Picking up a knock on that debut led to another injury lay-off, which kept Llorente out of the seven games that followed. Llorente suffered another setback on his return away at Newcastle in January, lasting only nine minutes on his first start before suffering a hamstring straing which would keep him out until mid-February.
Since making his comeback at home to Southampton, Llorente has gone on to start fifteen of the final sixteen league games, with Leeds losing only once in their final ten matches. Llorente bagged his first Leeds goal in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Elland Road in April, as the Whites went unbeaten at home versus 'top six' sides in their first season back in the top flight for sixteen years.
Llorente has seven caps for Spain prior to the tournament, having featured sparingly since making his debut in May 2016.
Spain begin their Euro's campaign on Monday 14th June (8pm KO) against Sweden, before facing Poland on Saturday 19th June (8pm KO). Their final group game against Slovakia takes place on Wednesday 23rd June (5pm KO). All Luis Enrique's sides' group stage fixtures will take place in Seville.
Kalvin Phillips
Despite appearing to suffer a reoccurence of the shoulder injury which his at times disrupted his Premier League debut season, Phillips has been named in Gareth Southgate's provisional 33-man squad for the Euro's, and is widely expected to make the final cut, when the squad is announced on 1st June.
The darling of the Elland Road faithful, and aptly named 'Yorkshire Pirlo', Phillips has once again proven his importance to Bielsa's Leeds side with his seamless adaptation to elite level football.
Making 30 appearances for the Whites this season in all competitions, Phillips bagged his only goal of the season in the final-day victory over West Bromwich Albion, and has also registered two assists.
Phillips is a product of Leeds' academy, having joined the club as a teenager in 2010 and has gone on to make 211 appearances for his boyhood club thus far. Only Klich, Alioski, Jack Harrison and Luke Ayling have made more appearances for Leeds since the arrival of Bielsa.
Famously making his England debut last September, before having made his Premier League debut for Leeds, Phillips has collected seven Three Lions caps, featuring heavily under Southgate whenever he has been available for selection.
England start their group with a tasty clash against World Cup finalists Croatia on Sunday 13th June (2pm KO), before reignited the old rivalry on Friday 18th June (8pm KO) versus Scotland, where Phillips will be hoping to face his club captain, Cooper. The Three Lions complete their group stage against the Cezch Republic on Tuesday 22nd June (8pm KO). All England's group games will be played at Wembley.
Tyler Roberts
Leeds' seventh and final representative at the tournament is Roberts, who has been selected by Ryan Giggs for Wales.
Roberts has probably been more heavily involved than previously anticipated for Leeds this season, making 28 appearances for the Whites this season in all competitions, The young Welshman finally bagged his first Premier League goal in the penultimate game of the season, a 2-0 win away at Southampton, and has also registered two assists.
Leeds signed Roberts from West Brom for a fee in the region of £2.5m in January 2018, and the 22-year-old has since gone on to rack up 82 appearances for the club.
Roberts already boasts thirteen caps for Wales, but has yet to score at international level. Like the rest of his teammates, this is his first taste of representing his country at a major tournament.
Wales begin their Group A campaign on Saturday 12th June (2pm KO) against Switzerland in Baku, before meeting Turkey on Wednesday 16th June (5pm KO) at the same venue. The final group fixture is a mouth-watering clash with Italy on Sunday 20th June (5pm KO) in Rome.
One's to Watch:
Sunday 13th June (2pm KO): England v Croatia Tuesday 15th June (8pm KO): France v Germany Friday 18th June (8pm KO): England v Scotland (Phillips v Cooper) Saturday 19th June (5pm KO): Portugal v Germany Saturday 19th June (8pm KO): Spain v Poland (Llorente v Klich) Sunday 20th June (5pm KO): Italy v Wales Monday 21st June (5pm KO): North Macedonia v Netherlands
Not Going
Now, let's take a moment to comiserate those not fortunate enough to be partaking in the Euro's, whilst attempting to not completely lambast the managers that chose to leave them at home.
Despite their incredible seasons', Southgate opted not to select either Patrick, Bamford, Luke Ayling or Jack Harrison for England. Bamford was the second highest English goalscorer this season, with seventeen league goals; finishing fourth in the Golden Boot race, won by incumbent Three Lions captain Harry Kane. Harrison registered the highest number of goal involvements for any English midfielder in the Premier League this season. Meanwhile, Ayling topped the charts for ball progression of any player in Europe's top five leagues. But, Southgate felt the likes of Ollie Watkins, Bukayo Saka and Ben Godrey were more deserving of their place in the provisional squad.
Perhaps the most surprising omission, aside from the Bamford injustice, is Luis Enrique's non-selection of Rodrigo, who had featured heavily in the qualifiers. After a stop-start season, the man previously dubbed "Spain's number nine" on his £27m arrival in the summer, ended the season with four goals and an assist in his last four games. But, Leeds will be hoping Rodrigo missing out on the Euro's will inspire the club-record signing to push for a place in the Qatar 2022 World Cup squad, with a stellar second season under Bielsa's tutelage.
Leeds-born Stuart Dallas, alternatively known as the 'Cookstown Cafu' will not be at this summer's tournament, as his native Northern Ireland failed to qualify; losing their play-off final with Slovakia. Had the Ulstermen qualified, Dallas would've been looking forward to the prospect of facing a date with Llorente's Spain in Group E.
And, finally Illan Meslier will be hoping to make his France under-21 debut this summer, after missing out on a long-shot hope of making the senior squad for the Euro's. The 21-year-old won Leeds' Young Player of the Year award and broke the record for youngest goalkeeper to keep eleven Premier League clean sheets, in a stunning debut campaign. Meslier is naturally, and quite rightly, being touted as a future France number one, on the back of an excellent breakthrough season in West Yorkshire.
- Phil Miles
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