The international break is perhaps more dreaded than the summer transfer window in the minds of most football fans — especially in England. It means a week without club action, an empty weekend and in most cases, the international football on display is dull when it comes to the Three Lions.
However, this break is a rare occasion in which there could be some excitement, if you’re into your international football; this week is make or break for many countries as they vie for a place at World Cup 2018 in Russia next summer.
In this article, we take you through the Chelsea players on international duty, country by country, and give you a break down of their country’s qualification status, what they need to do and who and when they could play (if selected by their respective managers).
Gary Cahill is one of the players in contention for the full-time England captaincy so will be looking to perform well in order to get the armband of Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane, who is temporary captain for this international break. Without further ado, here are the permutations facing Chelsea players in their World Cup qualifiers…
Belgium:
Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, Michy Batshuayi
Belgium are already qualified for next summer’s World Cup and are the only European team (besides hosts Russia) to have secured their spot already.
07/10/17: Bosnia-Herzegovina vs Belgium, 17:00
10/10/17: Belgium vs Cyprus, 19:45
Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard are regular first-choice picks for Belgium but could be rested with qualification not a worry.
Belgium can still have a big say in their group despite their own fate already being secured. Bosnia-Herzegovina are second in the group but can only guarantee their place with two wins, else they are hoping for Greece to slip up.
Cyprus can also catch Bosnia-Herzegovina, so Belgium’s performances will go a long way to deciding who joins them at the World Cup next summer.
Brazil:
Willian
Like Belgium, Brazil go into their final qualification games having already secured their place in Russia next summer — they are currently 10 points ahead of second place in the qualification table.
05/10/17: Bolivia vs Brazil, 21:00
11/10/17: Brazil vs Chile, 00:30
Also like Belgium, Brazil can still have a big impact on their group in their remaining two games; Bolivia are out of the picture so even a shock defeat there on Thursday night won’t change things, but Chile need a win against Brazil to keep themselves in contention so it’ll certainly be a game to keep an eye on!
Denmark:
Andreas Christensen
Denmark are third in their qualification group but are level on second-placed Montenegro on points, and only three points behind leaders Poland — so qualification is certainly still within reach.
05/10/17: Montenegro vs Denmark, 19:45
08/10/17: Denmark vs Romania, 17:00
Christensen will be hoping to play his part in two absolutely crucial fixtures — with a win against Montenegro being of utmost importance as Denmark look to at least make the play-offs.
If the Danes can overcome Montenegro, they’ll need just a point from their game against Romania to secure at least second place in the group.
England:
Gary Cahill
Chelsea captain Gary Cahill is the only member of the Blues squad to have been called up by Gareth Southgate — and is likely to start against Slovenia at Wembley as the Three Lions look for a win to take them to Russia.
05/10/17: England vs Slovenia, 19:45
08/10/17: Lithaunia vs England, 17:00
England are top of their qualifying group and could go through top with just one point in their two games, which would secure them at least a playoff spot — but any stress can be disregarded if they pick up a win against Slovenia in their first game, which will see their place at the World Cup cemented.
France:
N’Golo Kante
France are currently one point ahead of Sweden in Group A but could yet miss out on the World Cup altogether if it all goes wrong this week, with the Netherlands also lurking.
07/10/17: Bulgaria vs France, 19:45
10/10/17: France vs Belarus, 19:45
Didier Deschamps will be expecting nothing less than two wins from Les Bleus in order to cement their World Cup place against markedly weaker opposition.
If France win on Saturday night, Bulgaria’s hopes of making the play-offs will be over, as they won’t be able to catch either France or Sweden with just one game remaining.
Germany:
Toni Rudiger
Germany are top of their qualification group and are guaranteed at least a spot in the play-offs — but should certainly hold onto their lead.
05/10/17: Northern Ireland vs Germany, 19:45
08/10/17: Germany vs Azerbaijan, 19:45
Just one point in the away trip to Northern Ireland will do for Toni Rudiger and Germany — it’s all they need to top the group.
If they lose in Northern Ireland, they can most likely afford a draw at home to Azerbaijan and still finish top, by virtue of their far superior goal difference — Northern Ireland would need a 20-goal swing to finish top, even if Germany do lose then draw, and the UK side also pick up three points away to Norway.
Nigeria:
Victor Moses, Ola Aina
The Super Eagles are in a two horse race against Zambia for progression to the World Cup in Russia, with Cameroon and Algeria already out of the running in CAF Group B.
07/10/17: Nigeria vs Zambia, 17:00
The African qualification won’t be finished in this international break, with the final fixtures all to be played next month.
Moses, Aina and co simply need to beat Zambia in this penultimate fixture though, in order to guarantee their place in Russia next summer.
If they draw the game, they will need just one more point against Algeria to guarantee their qualification next month, but could lose the game and still progress on goal difference, providing Zambia don’t usurp them with a five goal swing.
Spain:
Cesar Azpilicueta and Pedro
Alvaro Morata had to withdraw from the squad for these final two qualifiers after sustaining a hamstring injury against Manchester City.
06/10/17: Spain vs Albania, 19:45
09/10/17: Israel vs Spain, 19:45
Spain are three points ahead of Italy in their qualification group, so a win against Albania would seal their place in Russia — they’ll be certain to go through to the playoffs as a best runner up if it all goes pear shaped though, as Albania are too far behind to beat them to second place if Italy do end up finishing top of the pile.
Italy:
Davide Zappacosta
The Chelsea full-back may not be first on the team sheet every week at Stamford Bridge but he could certainly have a big part to play for the Azzurri as they vie for World Cup qualification.
06/10/17: Italy vs FYR Macedonia, 19:45
09/10/17: Albania vs Italy, 19:45
Italy are second in their qualifying group and will be hoping to pick up six points and pile the pressure on Spain, who are three points ahead of them in the automatic berth.
If they do finish behind Spain, they are looking likely to go through to the playoffs as one of the eight best runners up — where four teams will then go to the World Cup if they win their ties. All Italy have to do to secure second place is avoid defeat in either game, as Albania are currently six points behind them.
The Netherlands:
Marco van Ginkel
The Dutchman will be hoping to help his side to better performances than they have produced in the last year, as the Netherlands still have a chance of making the World Cup despite a number of slip-ups.
07/10/17: Belarus vs Netherlands, 19:45
10/10/17: Netherlands vs Sweden, 19:45
The Netherlands are third in their group, four points behind leaders Spain and three behind Sweden, who they play during this international break.
To come top, they’d have to beat Belarus and Sweden by a combined goal difference of +5 (or more) and hope that France draw or lose both of their games, and that Sweden fail to beat Luxembourg, which is unlikely.
Alternatively, they can come second by beating Sweden and getting at least a point against Belarus, as long as Bulgaria don’t get maximum points from their two games. This would likely see Blind and his teammates through to the playoffs as a runner-up.
Croatia:
Mario Pasalic
Croatia are top of their qualifying table going into these crucial fixtures, but could still finish as low as fourth place in a highly competitive Group I.
06/10/17: Croatia vs Finland, 19:45
09/10/17: Ukraine vs Croatia, 19:45
A win against Finland will be both expected and necessary in the first of Croatia’s two games, with the Finns out of contention already.
Anything but a loss to Ukraine should see the Croats finish in second place and go to the play-offs, but a win will be desired, with Iceland threatening to snatch that automatic qualification spot from them — the Icelanders are level on points with Croatia going into these matches and play bottom of the table Kosovo in their final game.
Wales:
Ethan Ampadu
Wales are in second place in their group but are four points behind leaders Serbia with two games left to play — and have been dealt a hammer blow in that Gareth Bale is out of those games with injury.
06/10/17: Georgia vs Wales, 17:00
09/10/17: Wales vs Rep of Ireland, 19:45
Wales will want to get their final qualifications efforts off to a good start with a win in Georgia on Friday evening — or risk not even making the play-off place.
The crunch game, though, comes against Ireland — they play Moldova in their first game before coming to Wales for what is looking like being a decider as to which of the two sides finishes second. Unless, of course, Serbia falter against Austria, which could leave top spot up for grabs going into the final game.
Czech Republic:
Tomas Kalas
Kalas will be looking to simply get minutes under his belt and put in a good shift for this country, as the Czech Republic have no way of qualifying for next summer’s World Cup.
05/10/17: Azerbaijan vs Czech Republic, 17:00
08/10/17: Czech Republic vs San Marino, 19:45
The best the Czechs can do is come third in their group ahead of Thursday’s opponents Azerbaijan — and are expected to round off a disappointing qualification campaign with a win against San Marino in front of their home fans. Seeing as Azerbaijan are also out of contention for a World Cup spot, both of these games are somewhat of a non-event, as they will have no impact on the group, in terms of qualification.
