How Chelsea players fared in World Cup in Matchday 2

Matchday 2 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup group stages has ended and in fact, Matchday 3 has begun. Eight Chelsea players featured in this round and two were dropped from the last round. Kai Havertz and Cesar Azpilicueta did not feature for Germany and Spain respectively in Matchday 2. Several players played much better than their Matchday 1 performance and some were worse. Unsurprisingly, some had performances to forget in this round too. Here’s how The Pride of London thinks they fared:

Edouard Mendy (Goalkeeper) Senegal, Chelsea

Mendy was much better in the second fixture. He only made two saves, having faced three shots. There was one standout save he pulled out of the top drawer. There was another instance he picked a cross out of the air, and launched it forward, nearly creating a clear-cut chance for Ismaila Sarr in the process. He had a very good game and was solid all around.

Kalidou Koulibaly (Centerback) Senegal

Koulibaly was good against a very physical Qatar side. His passing wasn’t great, completing 4/11 long balls. He won 4/7 duels, which is good. He played a key role in organizing the back line and helping his team to a much-needed 3-1 win to keep them in the World Cup.

Thiago Silva (Centerback) Brazil

The Chelsea defender again held his own on the biggest stage. He recorded his second clean sheet of the 2022 tournament, with no player having more clean sheets than him. His passing and defending were superb. He also won all his aerial duels (2/2)

Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder) Croatia

Kovacic was phenomenal against Canada. He completed 93% of his passes while creating four chances, including two big chances. He was back to his old self, driving the ball through the midfield and slicing open back lines with precision passes. He won 8/11 duels. He contested eight tackles and won an impressive five. His ball retention was superb.

Mason Mount (Attacking Midfielder) England

Mount was poor in the game against the United States. No, not underwhelming, downright poor. In every way. He created zero chances, completed one pass into the final third, and recorded zero shot-creating actions. England fans are well within their rights to be irate at Gareth Southgate’s insistence in keeping him on the pitch when he’s not adding value to the team.

Raheem Sterling (Left Forward) England

Sterling was also substandard in Matchday 2. He won 2/4 duels, but that’s about all he did. The CFC forward created nothing, took zero shots and completed zero dribbles.

Christian Pulisic (Left Forward) United States

Pulisic had an OK game against England. The problem was that he was so selfish and his decision-making was so poor, that he single-handedly killed attacks that his team could have gotten more out of. He won an impressive 7/10 duels. He also won three fouls and completed 2/3 dribbles, which was impressive.

Hakim Ziyech (Right Forward) Morocco

Ziyech was magnificent for Morocco in their win against a technically brilliant, albeit toothless Belgium side. Belgium was expected to win that game, making Morocco’s victory more impressive. The Blue initially scored a goal that looked legal even from review but was ruled out when Morocco captain Romain Saiss was ruled offside. The wingman completed an impressive 4/7 dribbles and won 10/19 duels. He won 3/3 tackles and created two chances, including a superb assist that helped his team to go up 2-0. He also made a game-high three shot-creating actions and also a game-high two goal-creating actions.