Leeds United trio receive international call-up with intriguing battle against former Marcelo Bielsa favourite

Leeds United will be well represented in the Wales squad with Karl Darlow, Joe Rodon and Dan James all set for international duty later this month.

The trio have been named in Craig Bellamy’s 26-man squad for the international break, which kicks off next week as qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup get underway. Wales face Kazakhstan in Cardiff on Saturday, March 22 before a trip to North Macedonia the following Tuesday.

Ethan Ampadu will not be involved as he continues to recover from a second serious knee injury of his campaign. The 24-year-old missed 11 Championship games between September and December, with three more added to that list so far since his surprise omission from the matchday squad at Sheffield United last month.

Wales squad confirmed

Young Whites midfielder Charlie Crew, who is currently on loan at Doncaster Rovers, has also missed out, with Bellamy opting to call up another teenager in Kai Andrews for what could be his first cap. Other notable names in the squad include Sheffield United striker Kieffer Moore, former Leeds loanee Connor Roberts and experienced Sunderland defender Chris Mepham.

James and Rodon have been staples in the Wales squad for several years, with both in the form of their lives at Leeds this season. Winger James has 10 goals and nine assists in 30 Championship appearances while Rodon has been a warrior defensively, whether it be alongside Pascal Struijk or Ampadu.

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Thirty-four-year-old Darlow was only called up for the first time in September last year, making his international debut against Montenegro. He has been involved in every other international squad since and impressed when called upon, despite his lack of competitive action in West Yorkshire.

Unlikely Leeds link-up

Leeds fans will certainly have one eye on Wales’ fixtures in the hope James and Rodon in particular can come through unscathed, but the second World Cup qualifier at North Macedonia might be of particular interest. The latter nation is well-known in LS11 as the country of former player and cult hero, Ezgjan Alioski.

The 33-year-old is currently plying his trade at Saudi Pro League club Al Ahli and continues to represent North Macedonia, often starting at left-back. And so if James is picked to play in his natural right-wing position, he could end up going head-to-head with former Elland Road favourite Alioski.

The versatile left-sided player became one of several cult heroes in West Yorkshire as part of Marcelo Bielsa’s 2019/20 Championship title-winning squad. He continued to play regularly as Leeds finished ninth in the Premier League during their first year back before waving an emotional goodbye in the same summer as Pablo Hernandez and Gaetano Berardi.

James and Alioski never actually played together at Leeds, with the former’s August 2021 arrival from Manchester United coming a couple of months after the latter’s end-of-season release. But it will be interesting to see how the pair get on against each other, particularly for those of a Whites persuasion.