Chelsea International Watch: The World Cup preparation continues

In less than a week's time, the 23rd FIFA World Cup will begin in North America. Ahead of the tournament beginning, all competing nations are applying the finishing touches to their preparation for the tournament. As a result, a number of Chelsea players have been in action. 

To begin, Pedro Neto's Portugal were in action, as they hosted South American side Chile in the capital of Lisbon. The Chelsea winger was named amongst the substitutes, but came on at half time for Bernardo Silva. They won the game 2-1, though Neto did not score or assist. Former Blue Joao Felix came on in the second half.

Portugal will finish off their preparation for the tournament with a friendly against Nigeria on Wednesday, the 10th at 20:45 BST.

Then, there was action for Reece James and England under former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, as they played New Zealand over in the USA. The skipper was named on the bench to start the game. 

At half time, Tuchel made 11 changes, and James was one of the players to come on. Before the game, the state of the pitch quality was flagged up by many, so no doubt that Chelsea fans would have been wincing when he was introduced. Nevertheless, the right-back got through the game unscathed, and created a big chance for Ivan Toney, who had strayed offside in the process.

The Three Lions will face Costa Rica in their final game ahead of the tournament on Wednesday at 21:00 BST.

Finishing off the day's action, Enzo Fernandez and his Argentina side faced Honduras for the first of their two warm up games. The Chelsea midfielder came off the bench to play the final 27 minutes of the game, as he won his 41st cap for his country at just 24.

For their final game ahead of the tournament, they will face Iceland in a rematch of their opening game at the 2018 World Cup, where the Icelandic's pulled off a shock 1-1 draw. That game is on Wednesday morning at 01:30 BST.

Meanwhile, a few days ago, Filip Jorgensen kept a clean sheet for Denmark, as they drew 0-0 with DR Congo. Unfortunately for the Chelsea man, this is the first time since 2014 they have not qualified for the finals. The likelihood is that he has played his last game for the club, considering it is clear he will not be number one - nor perhaps even number two - next season, but we will see.