Predictions for Chelsea’s Belgium and England contingent in Group G action
By Nate Hofmann
Group G of the World Cup kicks off today, which means Chelsea’s biggest names will be front and center. How will the Blues do with Belgium and England?
The first weekend of the World Cup produced some unexpected results, plenty of VAR and more penalty kicks than the entirety of the 2014 tournament. With Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtoisready to start today and Michy Batshuayi, Gary Cahill and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in reserve, here are a few look-aheads for today’s matches.
Belgium 2 – 0 Panama
After watching Neymar get hacked into oblivion by Switzerland on Sunday, it’s becoming more and more apparent the referees have been told to keep their cards in their pockets as much as possible. With Video Assisted Refereeing making its debut in Russia, no one seems to know exactly how or when to apply it. So far it has had a real impact on referees make the calls on the field.
The pros and cons of VAR are a completely different discussion, though. Ultimately, we’re seeing tons of fouls but not many yellow cards. There have not been too many exceptionally dangerous or violent tackles yet (thankfully). But the persistent, unpunished fouling is taking its toll on some of the more technically skilled teams, most notably Argentina and Brazil.
With this being the case, Eden Hazard might be in for a long day on Monday, when Belgium go up against a… “robust” Panama side. A good chunk of Panama’s game plan will probably be fouling the likes of Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne out of the match. Panama will hope to slow the pace of play and allow themselves time to set their defensive shape.
The good news for Belgium though is they still have Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi. The striker pair might be able to pry the defense open with their physicality. These two will give Belgium the win, with Batshuayi scoring off the bench as he usually did for Chelsea.
Panama probably will not pose much of a threat going forward, so Thibaut Courtois will likely be a spectator for long stretches during the match. Maybe he can sign that Chelsea contract extension while he’s out there doing nothing. Fingers crossed Hazard makes it home in one piece.
England 3 – 0 Tunisia
Tunisia may just be the worst team in the tournament (although Saudi Arabia might have something to say about that). England, on the other hand, come into this match with growing confidence. They have gained some steam as a potential dark horse candidate to make a deep run in Russia. Helping their odds is their easy start to the tournament.
Unfortunately, Chelsea players will not have much of an impact on this match. Gary Cahill and Ruben Loftus-Cheek both seem destined to start on the bench. If the match is firmly in England’s hands in the second half, Loftus-Cheek will be one of the first players off the bench.
Cahill’s best chance of playing is if it becomes apparent the backline needs more leadership and a veteran presence. This might be the case when they come up against Belgium, but England should not need it today.
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Given his recent form, Cahill probably deserves to start against Tunisia, but Gareth Southgate seems to have a lot of faith in his younger players. All in all, this should be a walk in the park for the Three Lions.