Chelsea: Predictions for the Blues from France, Argentina, Denmark, Nigeria
All four World Cup games today could feature a Chelsea player or two. How will the day shape up for the Blues in Russia?
Cristiano Ronaldo single-handedly punished Spain for their decision to leave Cesar Azpilicueta on the bench for their World Cup opener. Azpilicueta would never have conceded a penalty kick in the first four minutes like his replacement, Nacho, did. And Azpilicueta could very well have delivered a screamer from outside the box, as he did in Chelsea’s League Cup win over Leicester City a few years ago.
France, Denmark and Nigeria will certainly not repeat Spain’s mistake, and will start at least one Blue each. Argentina may consider Iceland sufficiently unthreatening and put Willy Caballero between the posts for the Carabao Cup of group stage matches.
France vs. Australia: N’Golo Kante, Olivier Giroud
Charlie Pizey: 3 – 0. Kante will start as the anchor in a midfield three alongside Paul Pogba and Corentin Tolisso. He’ll do brilliantly (when doesn’t he?), allowing the other two midfielders the freedom to run the show.
Giroud will likely start on the bench. He has previously started for France, but based on their last few games as well as the team they used in training, Didider Deschamps will go with Kylian Mbappe (assuming he shakes off his injury), Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele as the front three. Giroud will come on and score the third.
Nate Hofmann: 3 – 0. Kante, of course, will clean up the messes made by Pogba and whoever else plays in France’s ill-advised 4-3-3. The athleticism and skillsets of Kante and Pogba should allow France to play a 4-4-2 / 4-2-4, which would give France the license to play another of their ridiculously talented attackers. Alas, Didier Deschamps does not see it that way, so Kante will likely stay behind Pogba and either Corentin Tolisso or Blaise Matuidi, taking care of what will probably be a non-existent Australia attacking threat.
Must Read: Chelsea are close to Maurizio Sarri, but have hit the 11,000th snag
After Giroud’s bloody head-to-head clash with Chelsea’s Matt Miazga (remember him??) in last weekend’s friendly against the US, he will probably sit this one out. France should stroll to victory even so.
Argentina vs. Iceland: Willy Caballero
Nate: 2 – 0. Willy Caballero can probably bring a pillow and blanket with him for the albiceleste’s match against everyone’s favorite Viking-clapping underdog, Iceland. Of all the group stage matches, this might be the most stark contrast between attacking versus defensive focuses (foci?).
While Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria, and the other zillion world-class attackers throw themselves against what promises to be a frustrating and resolute Icelandic backline, Caballero will serve mainly as cheerleader. Argentina might as well leave Caballero on the bench and just play Paulo Dybala instead.
Peru vs. Denmark: Andreas Christensen
Charlie: 2 – 2. Andreas Christensen will be composed on the ball as always, but Peru will prove to be a good team. They come from a difficult region and their recent play has caught some interest, so they may be a team to watch. Denmark have Christen Eriksen though, one of the best midfielders in the tournament. His quality will ensure Denmark at least one point.
Nate: 1 – 1. Andreas Christensen is another defensive Chelsea player who probably will not be under much stress this weekend, as Denmark face a physical but generally uncreative Peruvian side. There’s a reasonable chance Christian Eriksen will have more than 50% possession on his own.
That said, Denmark might find it hard to score with an attacking line that lacks a truly potent goalscorer. This one might come down to an Eriksen long-distance rocket, the type of goal Chelsea are unfortunately familiar with. Christensen’s greatest contribution will be winning headers from Peru goal kicks.
Croatia vs. Nigeria: Victor Moses, Kenneth Omeruo, Mikel John Obi
Nate: 2 – 1. The beauty of this match mostly lies in the combination of the two greatest kits in the tournament, nay, the world. Croatia’s bevy of good players whose names end in -ic face a Nigerian squad featuring Victor Moses (out of position), Chelsea legend-ish Mikel John Obi (out of position), and Kenneth Omeruo (oh yeah, that guy!). In fact, Moses might be the most out-of-position player in the entire tournament, vacating his right wingback role to play as an out-and-out inverted left winger.
Despite this, he’ll be Chelsea’s first goalscorer of the tournament, hopefully putting Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren on skates in the process. That would be fun. Otherwise though, the Rakitic- Modric – Kovacic midfield will probably prove to be the deciding factor in the match, and Croatia will walk away with the three points.
Next: Chelsea transfer rumours: Reduce, reuse, recycle, Alex Telles edition