Leeds United joy and pain dished out inside an hour as Whites man's Instagram story tells tale

In the space of an hour on Thursday one's place at the World Cup was confirmed and the other was conspicuous by his absence from his national team's 26-man squad list.

For Phillips there was an element of déjà vu in the relief he must have felt having made Gareth Southgate's England squad despite his recent shoulder problem.

It was in the very last moments of his very last game before Euro 2020, while still a Leeds player, that Phillips flew into a challenge that was not strictly necessary, landing awkwardly and damaging the joint.

As durable as they come, Phillips gritted it out and Leeds helped him out, going to great lengths to publicise his lightning-quick return to training and their belief that he would be ready for the summer tournament.

It worked out almost perfectly too, with the Leeds-born lad playing a most pivotal role as the Three Lions' prowled all the way to the final only to lose on penalties.

Phillips' ability to cover huge distances, shackling skillful attackers and looking after the ball was important to Southgate and his powers of recovery made him an ideal man to rely on in a tournament.

So when the same shoulder required surgery in September, it was not just the Manchester City midfielder sweating on his fitness ahead of the World Cup. Southgate, who remains a fierce admirer, faced an anxious wait too until, again, Phillips' club made a concerted effort to broadcast his readiness and 40 minutes of Carabao Cup football the night before the squad pushed the message over the line.

"Buzzing is an understatement!" tweeted the man sold by Leeds for £42m in the summer, shortly after the England squad was announced.

"I've dreamt of the call to represent my country at the World Cup since I can remember. I can’t thank the England manager and staff enough for their faith in me, and I'll do everything I can to repay that in Qatar. Bring on the World Cup!"

Phillips gave his all for Leeds and Marcelo Bielsa ensured that his all was more than good enough, not only for club but for country, and though there were some for whom he became persona non grata when he agreed a move to the Etihad, there are more who will celebrate his place in the England squad. Being a fervent Leeds supporter, one who was instrumental in the promotion that ended 16 years of Premier League exile, remains enough to keep Phillips' place in hearts across the city nice and warm. He’s still very much Leeds.

Klich did a hell of a lot to ensure that promotion came to pass too, and though unlike Phillips he's not Leeds by upbringing, there's something about the Pole's personality that has helped him fit right in here. Not Leeds-born but born to be Leeds, perhaps. His popularity has never waned with match-going supporters, who still belt out his 'it could be 20 yards or 30 yards' song on a regular basis.

Except he no longer fits in quite so well with the starting XI and the decision to stick around past the summer transfer deadline, in the knowledge that he would not feature as heavily under Jesse Marsch as he once did under Bielsa, appears to have cost him a crack at a World Cup.

What makes that especially sad is that Klich's story at club and international level has been one of redemption. A bright start to life in football marked him out as an exciting Polish prospect and then, a little like Leeds, he wandered around in the wilderness for a while before proving lots of people wrong and making it back to the top.

His growth in importance and influence at Leeds under Bielsa was mirrored with the national team and though with hindsight it's probably fair to say Klich was better equipped for the journey to the top flight than the arrival, he was still there at Euro 2020, selected and playing. Even if the Polish experience of that tournament was a lot less pleasant than the one Phillips had with England, it was an experience many in the game have not been blessed with.

And had Marsch's prediction that the impact-sub role he felt Klich had accepted with Leeds been enough to keep him in Czesław Michniewicz's plans, a place at the World Cup would have brought a genuine feel-good story to a satisfying close, at least at international level.

The head coach and the midfielder, according to Marsch himself, have had their disagreements but as the transfer window came to a close and Klich stayed put, the American insisted the air was clear. Klich was ready to play his part and fully briefed on what that looked like. It should be, Marsch seemed hopeful to the point of confidence, enough to carry Klich safely to the World Cup.

Alas, whether it was the scant game time he has received, behind Tyler Adams, Marc Roca and even Sam Greenwood in the Whites pecking order and left to get his starts in the Papa John’s Trophy and Carabao Cup, or some other reason Michniewicz found to exclude him, Klich will miss out.

The role Leeds United has played in Klich's life is one that you suspect he will always look back on with great fondness in the days after his career. A mutually beneficial relationship gave both parties memories to last forever.

The role it played in this chapter might be a different tale. As his golfing partner Phillips and others in the dressing room disappear off to Qatar to bring their dreams to life, he will be left to come to terms with the death of his and the what-ifs of a summer window that might have opened for him, into a World Cup.

On Thursday afternoon Klich's Instagram story featured the song Sztruks [slang for deceit], by Polish rapper Sokół. This isn't unusual, Klich is a rap aficionado. But it also isn't unusual for him to use his social media to indirectly express his feelings towards someone or something. The song's lyrics speak to feeling cheated, having devoted years to someone or something and, in the circumstances, that would be perfectly understandable. Where Phillips’ inclusion feels right, Klich’s situation just doesn’t feel fair and that, more often than is comfortable, is football. It gives and it takes away.

So even if Klich sets out to be decidedly zen about his World Cup fate and gets his head down, or takes out his Poland frustration on Leeds' opponents, this will sting for some time and leave a bitter taste. How much of it he can swallow and stomach might well go a long way to determining the ending to his Leeds United story.