Chelsea FC have many world-renowned players. With the 2014 World Cup coming up all 32 teams have chosen their squads and many Chelsea players are going to the World Cup this year, even though said number was reduced by one with the recent sale of David Luiz to Paris Saint-Germain as per Chelsea’s official webpage. Moreover, Frank Lampard and Samuel Eto’o have both been put on the free transfer list by the club but for my purposes they will still be counted as part of the Chelsea team. One interesting thing to note here is that of the 16 Chelsea players going to the World Cup, 5 of them were out on loan during the 2013-2014 season.
England:
Frank Lampard Part of the infamous “Golden Generation”, Lampard will be vice-captain at the World Cup. Being vice-captain though does not come close to guaranteeng his spot in the starting XI in this World Cup. With Lampard being 35 he does not have the athleticism he once had, Ross Barkley is his most likely successor and Lampar may struggle to make the impact for England that he has in recent years.
Gary Cahill had a fantastic season with Chelsea and was part of the PFA team of the year; a fantastic achievement by a player who once played for Bolton Wanderers, who are currently a Championship team. He and Terry were, statistically, the most solid centre-back pairing in the Premier League as they only conceded 27 goals(the fewest amount by any team this season). He will most likely be paired up with Phil Jagielka from Everton who had an excellent season, despite the injuries. Cahill could have a very good World Cup but only if he can do with Jagielka what he is able to do with Terry. Only then will England have a good run in the World Cup.
Belgium:
Thibaut Courtois had his best ever season in football, despite losing the Champions League final 4-1 against hAtletico’s local rivals Real Madrid. He won the Zamora award in Spain, given to the best goalkeeper in La Liga, for the second year in a row. Furthermore, he helped Atletico win La Liga for the first time since 1996. He will be Belgium’s starting goalkeeper over error-prone Mignolet and if all goes as planned then he will play a massive part in Brazil for the Belgian team.
Romelu Lukaku started off the season with Everton in blistering form and managed to score 15 goals in 31 appearances, guiding Everton to a club record 5th place finish with 72 points. Being only 21 years old he is still strong and fast but has a lot to learn. The main reason Lukaku will play a massive part in Belgium’s possible success is that his compatriot, Christian Benteke, is injured and out of the World Cup.
Eden Hazard: PFA team of the season; PFA young player of the year; PFA player of the year runner-up; Chelsea’s Player of the Year and scored his first hat-trick in professional football. Not much else to be said. He could, and should have a brilliant summer.
Brazil:
Oscar, although he finished the season so terribly when compared to his start, will still have a huge role to play for Brazil, as he did in the Confederations Cup. If he can regain his scintillating form and combine well with the two midfielders behind him and the attacking trio of, most likely: Neymar, Hulk and Jo, then Oscar’s high impact could very well lead Brazil to their 6th World Cup victory.
If Ramires does start for Brazil and does not lose his place in the team, he will be the engine which will drive Brazil anywhere they want to go. If he does not start then his impact will be non-existent. I predict that he will start and that he will have an unnoticeable yet huge impact. Unnoticeable because many times the one who does all the dirty work, like Ramires, has his actions go unnoticed and the hero or goalscorer, Neymar, takes all or most of the credit.
Willian has only made five appearance for the Verde-Amarela, but if he demonstrates that he deserves the right-wing spot over Hulk, then his impact will be tremendous. He runs all over the place and works as hard as he can to ensure he will play, much like he did at the start of the season with Chelsea.
Cameroon:
The importance of Samuel Eto’o for Cameroon will be the same as always. He will do all he can to keep Cameroon going but in the end his efforts will have been in vain as Cameroon get eliminated in the group stages. Therefore I’d suggest he will have a huge impact on the Cameroon team but not on the World Cup.
Germany:
Andre Schurrle’s impact in the World Cup will be low for Germany, unless they are bombarded with injuries, since they have Gotze, Draxler, Reus, Muller, Ozil, etc.
Spain:
Fernando Torres, if he is part of the final 23-man team, is unlikely to have much of an impact either on the Spanish team or the World Cup, as Vicente Del Bosque will most likely go with Diego Costa or Alvaro Negredo over him or even a false-nine with Cesc Fabregas up front.
Cesar Azpilicueta, should he make himself a mainstay in Del Bosque’s team, will be very important at full-back. He defends with passion and attacks with caution and precision.
Nigeria:
Although John Obi Mikel is one of the most disliked players by the Chelsea fans, his fans from Nigeria know better. He sometimes scores for Nigeria and helped his country win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013. He will play a big part in the Nigeria team for this World Cup.
Kenneth Omeruo is a fullback with bags of potential. He helped Nigeria win the Africa Cup of Nations like John Obi Mikel. Even though Chelsea had no place for him in the side this year, nevertheless he is a hugely talented player who is only 20 years old. He is a mainstay in the Eagles team and he will be an important cog in the Nigeria defence.
Victor Moses had a terrible season on loan at Liverpool. He might have a good World Cup but his poor form makes me think he will be of little significance unless he turns his fortunes around.
Ghana:
Christian Atsu had an excellent season while on loan with Vitesse as he was voted player of the year by the Vitesse fans. He is quick, young, and agile and might help Ghana be the true dark-horses of the 2014 World Cup.
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