Chelsea will have 15 players representing their respective countries in the 2022 FIFA World Cup which will be held in Qatar later this month. This is the first time the famous FIFA tournament is taking place in the Middle East.
Let’s shed some light on three of those 15 players and try to predict how they will fare in this year’s World Cup.
Christian Pulisic (United States)
The Chelsea attacker is expected to be one of the United States’ most potent weapons this World Cup. Pulisic will look to put his pace to good use as he attempts to get a few World Cup goals to his name after failing to impress at Chelsea so far this season.
Pulisic has scored one goal and grabbed two assists in 18 appearances for the Blues during this campaign on all fronts. Except for a few impressive displays, he has struggled to catch the eye which could be why he might find it difficult to give a good account of himself in this year’s World Cup. Still, he can expect to get selected in every World Cup match for the United States this month, so this tournament could be a nice distraction for the player to turn his fortunes around for the better.
Thiago Silva (Brazil)
The Brazilian defender has experienced a tough campaign at Stamford Bridge thus far but deserves a lot of credit for producing a run of dominant displays for Chelsea on the defensive third of the field. The 38-year-old has made 17 appearances for the Blues this season, picking up two assists in the process across all fronts and is averaging 1.6 tackles, 1.6 interceptions and 3.8 clearances per game in Premier League football (stats via whoscored).
Silva has often been a rock at the back for Brazil in recent years and is expected to step up and do well for them if needed when the World Cup gets underway in Qatar on November 20. He will have to form a solid defensive partnership with Marquinhos at the centre of Tite’s defence later this month.
Denis Zakaria (Switzerland)
The 25-year-old will proudly represent Switzerland in this edition of the World Cup. He has struggled to earn regular playing time at Chelsea since making a loan move from Juventus last September.
Despite his lack of football at Stamford Bridge this season, Zakaria is expected to play an influential role at the heart of Switzerland’s midfield. His primary job would be to protect the backline. However, the Swiss head coach Murat Yakin might opt to use him off the bench as he has preferred to use Granit Xhaka and Remo Freuler as his primary central midfielders.
