Why is Okafor on the bench?

With the final group matches of the World Cup finally trundling to an end, things are looking good for the Leeds quartet in North America. Gabi Gudmundsson and Ao Tanaka played out a mutually beneficial 1-1 draw to see both Sweden and Japan through, while Brenden Aaronson’s USA clinched their place in the Round of 32 with a game to spare (though Brenden’s only appearance so far was the latest 3-2 loss to Turkey – unlucky, Bren). In the sea of hydration breaks and dodgy political goings-on, it’s been a good tournament so far for those of a Peacock persuasion.

That is, however, unless you’re Noah Okafor.

Yes, he’s there – tucked away somewhere within the Swiss substitutes – but Leeds’ end-of-season superstar has barely touched the turf as his side finished top of Group B, seeing off our old friend Jesse Marsch in the process. After just over ten minutes in Switzerland’s 1-1 pre-tournament draw with Australia, Okafor hasn’t played a single second of World Cup football, despite his impressive form towards the end of the Premier League season. Instead, Swiss coach Murat Yakin has preferred Nottingham Forest’s Dan Ndoye (one goal, one assist all season) and Sevilla’s Ruben Vargas on the wings, even opting for more central attackers like Fabian Rieder and Johan Manzambi out wide ahead of Okafor.

For Leeds fans, it’s been hard to understand Yakin’s decision, particularly in Switzerland’s opening two games, when they failed to finish off Qatar before conceding a late equaliser and only opened the scoring against Bosnia late in the second half before eventually winning 4-1. When goals were seemingly at a premium, why not turn to a player that netted four in six games ahead of the tournament?

As always with Noah, of course, injury has played its part. Those ten minutes across the two warm-up games against Jordan and Australia was no doubt a hangover of the injury that kept Okafor out of the final three Leeds matches of the season, but the underlying issues surrounding Okafor’s relationship with Murat Yakin and the Swiss set-up go much deeper than a patchy health record.

At Euro 2024, Okafor didn’t play a single minute as Switzerland made the quarter-finals, only to be knocked out on penalties by England. At Qatar 2022, the young attacker played just 43 minutes, despite a strong season in Austria. Going into the tournament in Germany, in 2024, Okafor had been used as a back-up striker in the build-up despite his reservations, but his unimpressive tenure at AC Milan had scuppered his chances of being first-choice in any position. It was here, however, that the rift between Yakin and Okafor worsened.

By all accounts, things were poor behind the scenes; Okafor remonstrated about his lack of playing time, later telling The Athletic that he never even warmed up during the tournament. For a coach who demands loyalty and trust from his players, it was understandable that Yakin then decided to keep Okafor benched, especially given his lack of form preceding the Euros. But while behind the scenes issues are one thing, Okafor then decided to go public, complaining about his relationship with the Swiss Nati and its head coach in an interview with Beren Cross:

“Since then, I never spoke with the coach, not even a phone call or a message, also with the sporting director Pierluigi Tami… They don’t even call me or ask me. It’s hard because nobody texts you, nobody contacts you, nobody calls you. Even if he calls me to say my quality is not good enough, it’s fine. It’s your decision, you’re the coach.”

For Yakin, this was a step too far. He told Blue Sport in Switzerland: “He misbehaved in public and made statements in which he wanted to put himself above the team… I then clearly told him that he needed to improve. But I never criticised him as a player.”

In contrast to Okafor’s claims about radio silence, Yakin claimed he had spoken to Okafor frequently, hoping his words would “get through to him”. Clearly, he felt, they hadn’t, and now Okafor was airing dirty laundry to the press.

But maybe Noah going public was enough to force a real conversation about his situation. In February 2026, he and Yakin sat down in Leeds to clear the air and see if there was a way back into the Nati set-up for a player who could potentially offer so much to the group. Yakin’s feedback was positive, claiming he had told Okafor, “There are simply rules that you have to follow. If you can do that, you’re very welcome back with me.”

Okafor, apparently, apologised to the whole Swiss team for his previous behaviour. “I know that I didn’t do everything right,” he told Blue Sport. “But the matter has now been put to one side. I’m looking ahead. If you want to get to the top, you have to admit your mistakes, learn from them and make the best of them.”

That meeting, and Okafor’s remorse, paid its dividends. While injury kept him out of the friendly with Germany in March, he got his deserved World Cup call-up. But would he play? Would Yakin be able to look past the past?

The answer is, unfortunately, no, and it’s doubtful that we’ll see him in the knockout stages, unless Switzerland significantly struggle with injuries. Yakin has made his preferences clear – rotating between Ndoye, Vargas, Rieder and Manzambi on the wings, without a sniff of a chance for the penitent Leeds man. Perhaps, in a way, this is a deliberate test of Okafor’s sincerity: if he can deal with playing the role of back-up here, and then continue to make his mark in the Premier League, it would be extremely hard for Yakin not to bring him back into the fold in the future. Despite potentially not playing a single second of it so far, this World Cup might just be the most important moment of Noah Okafor’s international career. ⬢