Chelsea players have continued to proudly represent their country in pursuit of the biggest prize in football. more countries have been knocked out since the Round of 16 and some Blues still remain in the competition. Unfortunately, no CFC player is in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Here’s how some of Graham Potter’s performed in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Thiago Silva (Centerback) Brazil, Chelsea
Silva was good for Brazil. He did not make many defensive actions mainly because brazil dominated the final third. Silva completed the second most passes for Brazil (92), at a 94 per cent passing accuracy. Silva also created two chances, an interesting statistic considering he’s a centerback. He won an impressive 4/6 duels for his country, but, unfortunately, none of this was enough to send the Brazilians through to the semifinals. The South American nation conceded just before the 120th minute, and was forced to penalty shootouts, where they lost.
Mateo Kovacic (Central midfielder) Croatia
Kovacic was very good against Brazil. He was instrumental to Croatia’s doggedness in midfield. Croatia was clearly outgunned and therefore had little margin for error in that game, especially in midfield. Kovacic had a near-flawless performance. The Chelsea midfielder completed 91% of his passes and won 4/5 tackles. He also won 8/14 duels and won two fouls and contested the second-most duels for his team.
Semifinal
Kovacic was actually much better in the semifinal match against Argentina. However, his decision-making was a bit off, which was more irritating because Croatia doesn’t have many influential players in the final third. His ball-carrying was much better, but he missed the chance to play in Ivan Perisic who was in a very good position with no one close to him at the top of Argentina’s penalty box. He created three chances, completed 4/6 dribbles, and completed 95% of his passes. He won the most duels of any one on the pitch (10) and contested the second most duels (15). The Croatians was soundly beaten though, and CFC‘s Kovacic is now out of contention for the World Cup. He plays again for Croatia in the third-place final against Morocco.
Mason Mount (Attacking Midfielder) England
Mount came on in the 79th minute of the game against France and had some impact as he won a penalty, though not by his own doing. He was mowed down by Theo Hernandez in the box, but Harry Kane blazed the resulting penalty over the bar. To be fair to Mount, on another day, Kane scores the penalty and the game likely goes to extra time. Other than the penalty, Mount had little impact, though he did win two fouls. He pressed and tried to deny France’s players time on the ball too. Mount has returned to CFC after being knocked out of the World cup with England, failing to reach the semis. He had an underwhelming World Cup.
Raheem Sterling (Left winger) England
Sterling was much less influential in his time on the pitch, as he came on the same time as Mount. It was his first appearance after returning to Qatar, having left Qatar to deal with some personal issues. Sterling had already been dropped from the starting lineup before he left Qatar. He is another Blues man that had an underwhelming World Cup.
Hakim Ziyech (Right Forward) Morocco
Ziyech was very important for Morocco in the game against Portugal and France. Against the Portuguese, he played as an auxiliary right wingback, pairing up with Achraf Hakimi to deal with Portugal’s offensive threat on the right-hand side (Portugal’s left-hand side). He also served as a reliable outlet in overloading their right side of the pitch to relieve pressure and link up play. He switched play in the build-up to Morocco’s goal, playing it long to Sofiane Boufal who was hugging the touchline, and four dribbles later, Yahya Attiat-Allah crossed the ball into the box for Youssef En-Nesyri to head home. Ziyech created two chances and completed 1/5 crosses. He was taken off as a precaution when he went down with a knock. He helped Morocco to their first-ever World cup semifinal, making Morocco the first African nation to appear in a World Cup semifinal.
Semifinal
Ziyech started the game playing the same role he did in the Portugal game, but ended the half trying very hard to get the Moroccans into goal-scoring positions after they went behind in the 5th minute. credit to Morocco for keeping their heads and reacting brilliantly to going behind. In the second half, he moved closer to central midfield, and he played more of a role in getting the ball moving, distributing, and overloading France’s left-hand side.
Ziyech was good in the game, helping Morocco end the game with the same number of shots on target (3) and one less shot (13), despite losing. He made the most progressive passes in the match (7). He completed 0/7 crosses and 0/5 dribbles though. The CFC attacker will lead his country out again on Saturday as they play the third-place final.