Hello everyone, I hope you are all enjoying the build-up to the World Cup and are not too affected by Wales' rather disappointing friendlies and Swansea's Director of Football drama… Either way, World Cup Olle is here to try and lift the mood.

Last week we looked at our current Swansea players and their nations' chances in the World Cup, but today we will follow that up by looking at certain Swansea-connected figures in the world's biggest tournament!

⚽️ Marc Guehi (played for the Swans in 2020-2021):
The 25-year-old centre back is a player we remember all too well. A product of Chelsea's youth system, Marc Guehi (below) came to west Wales on loan in January of the 2019-2020 season and impressed enough to return on a full season loan in 2020-2021. It wasn't impressive enough for Chelsea to keep him, however, and he was sold to Crystal Palace for approximately £20 million. At Palace, Guehi grew into an excellent defender, physically dominant and good on the ball. He played a big part in their historic FA Cup win last year before transferring to Manchester City this January for an initial fee of £20 million, with his contract soon expiring. Guehi has been elite for City and is, in my opinion, England's best defender. I expect him to start every game at this World Cup, and I find it pleasing that Swansea played a big role in his development.

⚽️ Jordan Ayew (played for the Swans between 2016-2018):
This Ghanaian needs no introduction, really. He scored 12 goals in 58 appearances for Swansea and was the clubs top scorer (7) when relegated in 2017-18, being voted players' player of the season that year. He left on loan to Crystal Palace the following season and then made the move permanent a year later. Jordan Ayew (below) spent 6 seasons at Palace, scoring 24 goals in total, and has since suffered back-to-back relegations with Leicester. Jordan isn't the best Ayew to play for Swansea, and André's exclusion from the Ghanaian World Cup squad has caused some debate. André spent this season in the Netherlands with NAC Breda, who were relegated. It has not been a great year for the Ayew brothers.

⚽️ Kenji Gorré (Swansea youth player - with 1 first-team appearance):
Kenji Gorré (below) was once one of our most promising young prospects. In 2014-15 he was our under-21s' top scorer in the Professional Under-21 League 2, with 17 goals. (U23) The Professional Under-21 League also had players like Dominic Solanke and Alex Iwobi - although in the first division — so Kenji Gorré still had obvious talent. At this time the league was referred to ans u21 and u23. Unfortunately, that talent never really blossomed at the highest level. He made his one and only appearance for Swansea in a 1-0 defeat away at Crystal Palace in 2015. After that he went on loan to ADO Den Haag and Northampton Town before leaving for Portugal. After a few years in Portugal, he moved to Qatar, but this season he has played for Israeli side Maccabi Haifa. Kenji Gorré's career is fascinating enough to warrant its own deep-dive, but we have yet to touch on the best part. Gorré was born in the Netherlands to a Surinamese father (Dean) and a Curaçaoan mother from the Hague (her name is Magali, she appeared in the TV series, The Real Housewives of Cheshire). His father (Honorary Order of the Yellow Star) played for Ajax and Feyeonord later finishing his career in England. He is also eligible to play for England having attended school there for over 5 years as a child, yet he chose Curaçao, and in the World Cup qualifiers Gorré seemingly went back to his Professional Under-21 League 2 days - contributing 3 goals and 3 assists as Curaçao qualified for their first ever World Cup. What a story. Curaçao are the rank outsiders of the tournament, but I am hopeful for a Kenji Gorré goal.

⚽️ The Swedes (Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Viktor Gyökeres, Graham Potter):
To my delight, Sweden has the most Swansea representatives in the World Cup. Kristoffer Nordfeldt was at Swansea between 2015-2019 but only ever made 44 appearances. Viktor Gyökeres was here even more briefly, on loan in 2020-21, making only 12 appearances and scoring 1 goal. He has since gone on to become a Premier League winner, go figure. Graham Potter (below) coached Swansea in 2018-19 and was pretty successful. His takeover of the Sweden job during the World Cup qualifiers - and Sweden's miraculous qualification - has made him something of a national hero. In fact, all three were the most celebrated figures after the qualification, with Gyökeres leading the way of course, having scored 4 goals in the two play-off games to send Sweden through. I couldn't be prouder.

⚽️ Roberto Martinez (Swansea manager 2007-2009):
Roberto Martinez is one of the most important and influential figures in Swansea's history. He was the architect of "the Swansea way" and led us to promotion to the Championship in 2008-09. His importance cannot be understated and he too deserves an entire deep-dive of his own. In 2016, he took over as Belgium manager, leading their "Golden Generation" until 2022. He "only" managed a World Cup bronze medal in that time, which many viewed as a failure given their squad quality. He took over as Portugal manager in 2022 and was at first criticized, but has grown into the role. Portugal won the 2025 Nations League and look to be a real threat heading into the World Cup. It was long ago now, but we should forever appreciate the Swansea legend that is Roberto Martinez.
That's all I could find, folks. From Kenji Gorré to Roberto Martinez, we have some very entertaining connections to a very eclectic group of people at the 2026 World Cup. And we have some real quality - stars like Gyökeres and Guehi, and brilliant coaches in Martinez and Potter, and of course, Kenji Gorré. 

See you next time!

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Photographs with permission Athena / Dimitris Legakis