It’s a World Cup year, which means that once again a selection of Chelsea players will be involved in the summer showpiece.
There have been some surprises, with Cole Palmer cut from the England squad in favour of Noni Madueke – a decision that has raised more than one eyebrow.
Levi Colwill is another who might have fancied a seat on the plane having regained fitness, but in the end Reece James will be the only Chelsea representative in Thomas Tuchel’s squad of 26.
There was disappointment too for Joao Pedro, who – despite notching 20 goals in his maiden season in the blue shirt – has not made the cut for Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil.
There’s better news for players representing two of the favourites to lift the trophy. Spain are the bookmakers’ fancy to hoist the Jules Rimet, with Marc Cucurella almost certainly sure of his place on their plane.
Malo Gusto (France) and Pedro Neto (Portugal) may also fancy their chances of a deep run, while defending champions Argentina will surely be bolstered by Blues pair Enzo Fernandez and Alejandro Garnacho.
Senegal, Ecuador and Belgium are just some of the other nations expected to have Chelsea involvement in their squad.
Can any of them join the exclusive club of players that have won the World Cup while contracted to Chelsea?
Marcel Desailly & Frank Leboeuf (1998)
France were absolutely outstanding at World Cup ’98; how could they not be, with a squad that included Lilian Thuram, Laurent Blanc, Patrick Vieira, Thierry Henry and Zinedine Zidane?
Blanc’s central defensive partner for Les Bleus was Marcel Desailly, the man nicknamed ‘The Rock’ who made more than 200 appearances for Chelsea.
A physical powerhouse blessed with tremendous technical ability, Desailly was a mainstay of a France side that romped through their group with three wins from three and a goal difference of +8.
Frank Leboeuf, meanwhile, was a ball-playing centre back before they were trendy. A surname that literally translates as ‘the beef’, Leboeuf was more brain than brawn – although he couldn’t find a way past Blanc in the French starting eleven.
That was until the semi-final, when Blanc was sent off in the second half of France’s clash with Croatia. Leboeuf entered the fray as a tactical substitute for Youri Djorkaeff, joining Desailly at the heart of Les Bleus’ defence.
With Blanc suspended for the final, it was the Desailly-Leboeuf axis that helped France to victory – a clean sheet aiding them to a 3-0 victory over Brazil.
Desailly was sent off in the second half having been shown two yellow cards, but by that point the game was over as a contest – Chelsea now had two World Cup winners in their midst.
Andre Schurrle (2014)
There was heartbreak for Chelsea duo William Gallas and Claude Makelele in 2006: they were beaten in the World Cup final on penalties by Italy.
Fast forward eight years and Andre Schurrle (remember him?) was the next Blues participant in football’s biggest game.
In truth, Schurrle barely got a kick in the group phase as the likes of Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller and Mario Gotze were selected ahead of him.
But after coming on as a half-time substitute against Algeria in the Round of 16, the winger was the game-changer for his side, scoring their opener in what would be a 2-1 extra time win.
Schurrle came off the bench in the quarters against France and in the semis against Brazil: one of the most remarkable games in World Cup history, he netted twice in Germany’s 7-1 humiliation of the tournament hosts.
His status as a super sub was confirmed in the final, where he was summoned from the bench after just 32 minutes to replace the injured Christoph Kramer.
And Schurrle would prove to be the difference-maker in an incredibly close game… his run and cross found its way to Gotze, who fired home to send the German fans into raptures.
Although he didn’t start a single game at World Cup 2014, Schurrle’s legacy as an icon of German football is assured.
Olivier Giroud & N’Golo Kante (2018)
Chelsea once again provided France with two World Cup winners, this time at the 2018 edition.
N’Golo Kante was at the peak of his powers during the tournament, with his energy and almost psychic ability to break up opposition attacks vital to Les Bleus’ charge to the title.
Olivier Giroud found his game time limited at the start, but by the end the knockout phase had forced his way into Didier Deschamps’ side with some typically forceful displays off the bench.
France cruised through their group before bumping into Argentina in the last 16, where the two sides would play out a 4-3 epic – Kylian Mbappe’s brace ultimately proving decisive, before Uruguay were despatched with both Kante and Giroud in the team.
A cagey affair with Belgium in the semi-finals was won by Samuel Umtitti’s second half goal, setting up the final with Croatia.
Once again, both Kante and Giroud were selected by Deschamps in what would prove to be a 4-2 victory for Les Bleus – and another World Cup triumph involving a pair of Chelsea boys.
Could any Blues players replicate those successes at this year’s tournament?