Chelsea contingent chasing World Cup glory in Russia

Chelsea will be well represented at this summer’s World Cup, with 13 players guaranteed to be taking part in Russia.

N’Golo Kante and Olivier Giroud are in the France squad, while Willian, Antonio Rudiger, Cesar Azpilicueta, Andreas Christensen and Willy Caballero will represent Brazil, Germany, Spain, Denmark and Argentina respectively.

Eden Hazard, Thibaut Courtois and loan star Michy Batshuayi will hope to gain the bragging rights over England during the group stage, although Gary Cahill and Ruben Loftus-Cheek will undoubtedly have other ideas.

Victor Moses and Kenneth Omeruo have been named in Nigeria’s preliminary squad, but only the former is likely to make the final cut.

Read on as we look at which nations hold a realistic chance of delivering World Cup success this summer.

Brazil

Willian has established himself as a key member of Brazil’s squad and he should see plenty of game time in Russia.

Brazil’s 7-1 defeat against Germany in the 2014 semi-finals took them a long time to recover from, but they qualified comfortably for the latest tournament.

They haven’t reached the final since lifting the World Cup in 2002, but the five-time winners have a long history of success on football’s highest stage.

Brazil are currently priced at 9/2 to lift the trophy and you can use this Expekt promotional code if you fancy Willian to be part of their sixth World Cup triumph. 

France

France are expected to have a major impact at the World Cup. An opening group of Peru, Denmark and Australia should hold no fears for a squad that contains some serious firepower.

Kante will be a key man in midfield, but Giroud is likely to be used as an impact substitute despite impressing for Chelsea since signing for the club in January. 

France have failed to reach the semi-finals in the last two World Cups, but they conceded just six goals during qualifying and could be hard to beat this time around.

Germany

Germany are expected to provide the stiffest challenge to Brazil and France during this World Cup. The reigning champions breezed through qualification, scoring 43 goals and conceding just four in 10 games.

Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels are likely to be the first choice pairing at the heart of their defence, but Rudiger will hope to be given an opportunity along the way.

Germany’s performance in the 2014 final against Argentina showed that they could produce gritty performances when necessary and they will be a force to be reckoned with this summer.

Spain

Spain are unbeaten under manager Julen Lopetegui and theylook back to the sort of form that saw them win the World Cup in 2010.

Azpilicueta’s ability to play across the backline should see him figure during the tournament, although he is unlikely to play every game.

Spain recently demolished Argentina 6-1 in a friendly and they will be a danger to everyone this summer.