The Impact Of The World Cup On Chelsea

The 2022 World Cup is fast approaching and with just six weeks until football’s biggest tournament gets underway, clubs are preparing for a six-week break.

This is the first time the World Cup is set to be held during the British wintertime which does cause some disruption to league football. Some Premier League clubs will be able to spend the time preparing for Boxing Day fixtures with their players whereas others will be resuming domestic games with less-prepared and fatigued squads.

The bigger clubs are more likely to be losing players through international duty but they should also be more prepared with better depth in their squads. However, some clubs have fared better than others and unfortunately, it’s not good news for Chelsea fans.

From the top 6, Liverpool seem to have come out the best with 11-12 of their main squad in contention to play in the World Cup. The likes of  Luis Diaz, Mohamed Salah, Joel Matip and Andy Robertson will remain with their club as Columbia, Egypt, Cameroon and Scotland failed to qualify for this year’s tournament.

Arsenal, who have gotten their 2022/23 campaign off to a strong start could lose up to 14 of their players including Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus.

Manchester City are set to lose around 15 of their players but as the majority of them play for countries that are expected to do well, they could also be hit hard but for an extended period of time throughout the World Cup. City have key players who represent the likes of England, Belgium, Portugal, Spain and one of the top World Cup tips, Brazil.

Chelsea on the other hand are set to be hit hardest by the World Cup with an estimated 20 players set to feature in the tournament. 

The emotional and physical impact that the players will endure from playing in the World Cup may be significant and it’s likely that as we draw closer to Qatar 2022 kicking off, players who are set to feature may be distracted when playing for their domestic clubs.

The Blues have some hugely important games ahead of them prior to the World Cup getting underway and it’s essential that they are focussed on club football right up until they leave for Qatar. 

Man Utd at home in October, Arsenal in November and huge clashes with Manchester City in the FA Cup at the Etihad and Newcastle United at St James Park all precede the start of the World Cup and when league football resumes on Boxing Day, Chelsea face Bournemouth (H) followed by Nottingham Forest (A) who will have had significantly fewer players fatigued from international duty. 

Which Chelsea Players Are Heading To The World Cup?

Chelsea could lose up to 20 of their players for six weeks during the tournament. 

Although World Cup squads have not been confirmed by the managers yet, the following players are all in contention of featuring at the tournament.

Edouard Mendy - Senegal

Thiago Silva - Brazil

N'Golo Kante - France

Mateo Kovacic - Croatia

Kai Havertz - Germany

Raheem Sterling - England

Christian Pulisic - United States

Mason Mount - England

Ben Chilwell - England

Reece James - England

Marcos Alonso - Spain

Cesar Azpilicueta - Spain

Conor Gallagher - England

Ethan Ampadu - Wales

Baba Rahman - Ghana

Ethan Ampadu - Wales

Callum Hudson-Odoi - Ghana

One worry is that five of the potential candidates play for England who are tipped to do well at this year’s World Cup. There are also several players from Brazil, France, Germany and Spain who are likely to have a good run in the tournament also.

Ideally, the club would like for their players to return from the tournament as soon as possible but they’re likely to be without a number of key players until the World Cup concludes on Sunday 18th December, just 8 days before Chelsea host Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.