Euro 2020: Matches with the biggest Chelsea influence

After almost two years of non-stop club football, we can finally take a deep breath. As much fun as it has been, a few months without Chelsea to worry about is healthy for all parties; players, coaches and fans alike. It gives everyone a chance to sit back and enjoy the glow of a well-earned Champions League trophy and a potentially seismic summer transfer window.

Heck, with life returning to normal in many ways, we might even forget about football entirely as we begin to get outside and socialize for the first time in forever. Just kidding. Football never sleeps, and the Euros—now a year overdue—are upon us. You won’t be seeing those groovy new home kits for a few more months, but you can certainly watch some Blues in action. Chelsea will be the most-represented club in the tournament, with a whopping 17 players suiting up for 10 different countries. Watching Blues play in any other kit is always a bit jarring, but the real fun starts when teammates become opponents. In the group stage alone, there are six matchups featuring blue-on-blue action.

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Let’s preview (and predict) each contest, starting from the beginning:

England vs. Croatia

When: Sunday, June 13
England: Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Mason Mount
Croatia: Mateo Kovacic

A rematch of the World Cup semifinal to kick off both sides’ tournament should make for an intense and probably chaotic affair. England has loads of talent all over the field, so long as you don’t look at the centerbacks and goalkeepers. Despite not featuring in pre-tournament friendlies against Austria and Romania, all three of Mason Mount, Reece James and Ben Chilwell should feature heavily.

James is the shakiest bet to start, with Gareth Southgate possibly opting for the more veteran presence of Kyle Walker or Kieran Trippier to act as training wheels for an underwhelming centerback partnership. Mount seems to be as highly rated by Southgate as he has been by Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel. The young midfielder should be a mainstay as a workhorse playmaker supporting a talented but as-yet-undefined set of attacking players. Chilwell needs only to beat out Luke Shaw for the starting left back role. He could stake an even firmer place in the team by playing as a left wingback if Southgate opts to play a back-three to employ quantity in lieu of quality in defense. That more cautious approach would be great news for James, as well, as his newfound versatility could make him the perfect option as a right centerback in that theoretical back three.

Mount will have to cope with the combative and robust Mateo Kovacic in the middle of the park. Kovacic missed a sizable chunk of the final stretch of the season through injury, but did have a meaningful impact on Chelsea’s last few matches, including replacing Mount late in the Champions League final.

After being a bit-part player in Croatia’s run to the World Cup final in 2018, Kovacic is now one of the key contributors in a midfield that pretty much picks itself at this point. Expect to see Kovacic alongside Marcelo Brozovic and Luka Modric, as the former two do all the heavy lifting for the aging Real Madrid superstar. Croatia’s major issue is that its midfield is easily the strength of the squad. There are decent options up top—including Ante Rebic, Ivan Perisic and Andrej Kramaric—but the lack of a dominant focal point like Mario Mandzukic in attack could be a problem. At the back, things are pretty grim, with self-proclaimed “greatest defender in the world” Dejan Lovren pairing with Atletico Madrid’s Sime Vrsaljko as the only two notable names. Kovacic is obviously unlikely to offer much help scoring goals, so expect him to be doing a healthy bit of emergency defending to cover for a rickety back line.

Prediction: 3-1 England

England gets all three points and three goals to boot. Croatia struggles but manages to claw back one goal thanks to some Modric magic.