As we have all painfully felt over the last few weeks, the European football season is well and truly finished for the foreseeable future. And what makes this break all the more gut-wrenching is the fact that the 2022 FIFA World Cup should already be underway.
Friday 10th June was when the tournament was originally slated to kick off, with Edouard Mendy’s Senegal – the newly crowned champions of Africa – facing off against the Netherlands at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.
But due to the soaring temperatures in the Qatari summer, which can reach as high as the mid-’40s, the competition will now take place this winter. Oddschecker, who compares online bookmakers providing free offers on the World Cup, have made Brazil and France the early favourites to lift the trophy in the desert, and Chelsea have a vested interest in both of those countries.
But it’s not just Les Bleus and the Selecao where there is blue representation. Contenders for the crown, such as Germany, Spain and despite their recent 4-0 drubbing at the hands of lowly Hungary, England, all regularly select Stamford Bridge-based players.
So which of our superstars could be on the brink of the biggest moment of their careers?
Thiago Silva – Brazil
There’s a reason that Chelsea offered Thiago Silva a new contract despite him being 37 years old. It’s the same reason that national team manager Tite continually calls him up to the Brazil squad. And that’s because the 107-time international cap holder is a Rolls Royce of a centre-half.
Silva has been a revelation since his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain two years ago, leading the club to UEFA Champions League glory in his first campaign with the club and going from strength to strength ever since. The former AC Milan captain missed just seven Premier League and Champions League games last season, despite the fact that he will be 38 by the time this winter’s footballing bonanza gets underway.
And for his South American homeland, the Brazil skipper has unfinished business on the international stage. It was his injury – alongside the one suffered by Neymar – that left gaping holes in the Selecao’s defence at the World Cup eight years ago.
In his absence, Germany were free to maraud through at will, demolishing the 2018 hosts 7-1 in the Maracana and leaving his country in tears. The Rio de Janeiro native has not forgotten that night, and Qatar will represent his final chance to make things right in front of the world’s eyes.
N’Golo Kante – France
How can you not love N’Golo Kante? The tenacious midfielder is football’s resident nice guy. Whether he’s driving around London in his Mini Cooper, watching Match of the Day with some fans, or lifting the World Cup in a rainy Moscow, it’s hard not to adore the Frenchman.
Since his arrival in England, he has taken the country by storm first with Leicester City – leading them to miraculous 5000/1 Premier League glory – and then with the Blues.
The former Caen midfielder will be 35 by the time the world embarks on North America in 2026, so you get the feeling that this is his final chance to win his second world crown. And his Les Bleus side are second-favourites to lift this year’s FIFA World Cup trophy, defending the crown they won back in 2018.
If they were to win the tournament once again, they would become the first team to defend the trophy in 60 years, since back when Brazil staved off the competition to retain the gold in Chile in 1962.
Before they can think about that honour, however, they first need to break the reigning champions curse, which they know about all too well. They were the first victims of the hoodoo back in 2002 when they travelled to Japan and South Korea as reigning champions, only to lose two of their three games and finish bottom of the group.
Since then, Italy, Spain and Germany have all been victims of the daunted jinx, and Didier Deschamps will have to warn his men against complacency before their trip to the Arabian peninsula.
Mason Mount, Reece James & Ben Chilwell – England
If we’d written this article a few weeks ago, there would be no disputing that England are one of the contenders for their first major trophy since 1966. In Russia, Gareth Southgate led his side to a first World Cup semifinal since Italia ‘90.
They then followed that up with a run to the Euro 2020 final, only for a ghost of their past – namely penalty shootouts – to rear its ugly head once again. But the next logical step in the progression of England’s Young Lions would be to actually win something, and many fans and pundits alike had suggested they may do exactly that in Qatar. That was until the recent UEFA Nations League fixtures.
Lacklustre draws against Italy and Germany, as well as losing home and away to Hungary have left the Three Lions in disarray.
Despite the two most recent major tournaments yielding England’s best results in three generations, fans at Wolves’ Molineux stadium were jeering their manager, suggesting that the end may be near.
Many pundits, such as Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher, have rushed to his defence, but if his side were to fail in Qatar, the writing may be on the wall for the former Middlesborough centre-back.
Two players who Southgate trusts implicitly are Chelsea’s Mason Mount and Reece James. Attacking midfielder Mount started all but two of England’s games at Euro 2020, including the semifinal and final, and James is currently battling out with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold for the number one slot at right-back.
Ben Chilwell’s injury troubles limited him to just seven Premier League appearances last term. However, the poor form of Manchester United’s Luke Shaw should mean that the former Leicester City man will reclaim his spot in the international setup once fully fit.
Should he return to full fitness, he may be able to provide a balance to a shaky-looking backline, which his country will need if they are going to succeed this winter.