The nine Leeds United stars on international duty as trio recalled, Isaac Schmidt faces Elland Road duo

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The second international break is upon us and Leeds United have nine players in action during the next fortnight for their countries, eight of which are currently in Daniel Farke’s senior squad.

Below, LeedsUnited.News takes a look at the nine Leeds United players called-up to represent their countries over the next two weeks, before Leeds take on Burnley at Turf Moor on October 18.

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The nine Leeds players in action during the international break

Ethan Ampadu, Karl Darlow, Joe Rodon (Wales)

Ampadu returns after missing games against Kazakhstan and Canada in September, having suffered a knee injury in the opening game against Everton. But Dan James is missing after twisting his ankle.

Charlie Crew is likely to be on stand-by, but the out-on-loan star has been in and out of Doncaster’s side in League One, while on loan. Crew started for Wales v Canada. Rodon and Darlow are also in action.

Jaka Bijol (Slovenia)

Two crucial World Cup qualifiers await Bijol and Slovenia to save their chances of qualifying for next summer’s tournament. Slovenia have just one point from two games and face Kosovo and Switzerland.

Slovenia manager Matjaz Kez says he understands Daniel Farke’s decision not to start Bijol in a Premier League match. Bijol will likely start both games and try to show Farke what he is capable of this break.

Gabriel Gudmundsson (Sweden)

Like Slovenia and in the same four-nation group, Sweden only have one point from two games and their World Cup chances are dwindling. Gudmundsson will be hoping to take club form into Sweden’s games.

Swedish media hammered Gudmundsson for his display in a 2-0 loss to Kosovo in the last break, saying he was “weak” and “outplayed”. He will need to be a lot better against Switzerland, and then Kosovo.

Ao Tanaka (Japan)

Much like Bijol, Tanaka will be hoping to show Farke what he is capable of during the break. Tanaka was missing for Japan’s September fixtures, having suffered the exact same injury sustained by Ampadu.

But now, he returns to the Japan squad for games against Paraguay and Brazil during the break. It is likely he will get some decent game time given both are friendlies, and arrives fresh having failed to start.

Brenden Aaronson (USA)

Aaronson was left out of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad in September despite being part of the side that got to the final of the Gold Cup in the summer. But he’s back after starting four Premier League games.

The £25m man has been one of the surprises of Leeds’ first seven league games and Aaronson will feel he made the right decision to ignore Bundesliga interest, even more so after being recalled by Pochettino.

Ilia Gruev (Bulgaria)

It was a car crash of a situation for Gruev in September. Dropped by Ilian Iliev for blowing his top in the Bulgaria dressing room after a 3-0 defeat by Spain, he was axed, then reinstated for a 3-0 loss to Georgia.

Since Gruev has returned to Leeds, Iliev has been sacked and remains manager of Cherno More. Now, he has the chance to work with a new manager, Bulgaria’s u21 manager of seven years, Aleksandar Dimitrov.

Isaac Schmidt (Switzerland)

Out on loan at Werder Bremen, Schmidt is yet to start a league game but has come on in four Bundesliga matches. He has scored against Leverkusen and on the weekend, came on at half-time against St. Pauli.

He has retained his place in Switzerland’s squad and will be hoping for more starts to soldify his place ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Schmidt faces Gudmundsson’s Sweden and Bijol’s Slovenia this break.