England face Wales on Thursday, which is a game with intrigue from a Leeds United perspective for a variety of reasons.
Leeds United have some Welsh icons previously playing for them, with John Charles and Gary Speed two of the greatest players in the history of football in Wales.
There are nine players contracted to Leeds on international duty, including a Welsh trio set to face England on Thursday in the current international break.
Dan James and Charlie Crew are not in the squad, but Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, and Karl Darlow are. They are joined by the likes of Harry Wilson and Ben Davies, too, whom Leeds have had previous interest in.
There is no Connor Roberts, who has previously been loaned to Leeds before. There are also no English players from Leeds involved, with Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford the last to feature for both Leeds and England.
Leeds United legend Don Revie has unwanted England record Thomas Tuchel won’t want
Thomas Tuchel could look at the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin again in the future, but his attack is somewhat set in stone at this moment in time.
He is not a consistent player for England, having not been capped since 2021. However, five of Leeds’ regular internationals have missed out during this October break when two Home Nations face off.
Tuchel has taken charge of six games so far, since replacing Gareth Southgate. He has lost just one, with Senegal and Habib Diarra defeating England that day in a friendly.
Tomorrow night sees England take on Wales at Wembley. There is not just Leeds-related intrigue, but an unwanted record which involves a Leeds icon is also on the line.
The legendary Don Revie managed Leeds for over 13 years before taking charge of England between July 1974 and July 1977. Tuchel could match Revie against Wales, should he not beat the fellow Home Nation.
That’s because each of the last eight England managers have won their first meeting with a fellow Home Nation (excluding those that didn’t face one), with Revie vs Northern Ireland in May 1975 the last to fail to record a victory via a 0-0 draw.
It’s something he has to be wary of, especially as England have lost their last two friendly matches (0-1 vs Iceland in June 2024 and 1-3 vs Senegal in June 2025), and last losing three non-competitive games in a row in 1985 under Sir Bobby Robson.
- READ MORE: The Daniel Farke XI that has now been named 4x as often as iconic 1970s Leeds United team under Don Revie
Leeds heroes Ao Tanaka and Marcelo Bielsa lined up as England friendlies in March
England have not yet qualified for the World Cup but they are ever so close. They could face Marcelo Bielsa, with Uruguay having already qualified for USA 2026.
That, of course, means Brenden Aaronson has qualified, but so has Ao Tanaka’s nation. Not only that, but both Tanaka and Bielsa could soon be set to face England.
There are plans for further friendlies and preliminary talks have begun to face those nations. That is because the Three Lions have desire for Asian and South American opposition before USA.
Tanaka will hope to retain his place in the squad, given that Japanese football is currently in the middle of somewhat of a golden generation as well.
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