Chelsea Players at the FIFA World Cup: Knockout Stage Update

It's safe to say this summer's FIFA World Cup is already going very quickly. We have already entered the knockout stages of the competition, and with it, there has been plenty of action for Chelsea stars. Let's take a look at how they are getting on so far.

To begin, Jorrel Hato finally made his World Cup debut for the Netherlands, playing 34 minutes of their fixture against Morocco. However, his side would eventually lose on penalties, making it three World Cups in a row (2014, 2022 and 2026), that they have entered and been knocked out on spot kicks. 

Still, great for Hato to have made his debut in any case. There is some hope that he will play a more prominent role at Chelsea next season, after the departure of Marc Cucurella to Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Malo Gusto played the final quarter of an hour for France, as they comfortably dispatched Sweden and former Chelsea boss Graham Potter 3-0. They will face Paraguay in the last 16 on Saturday at 22:00 BST. 

This was Gusto's third cameo of the tournament, being brought on for Jules Kounde - once heavily linked with the Blues - on each and every occasion. 

Then, in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday), Moises Caicedo captained Ecuador away to Mexico in the Azteca. Unfortunately for him and his team, this is where their World Cup run came to an end, losing 2-0 to the hosts. The Chelsea midfielder played the 90 minutes, created a big chance, completed six accurate long balls, had 77 touches of the ball, and made a last man tackle. A valiant effort. 

Meanwhile, youngster Kendry Paez played the final 11 minutes of the game, making his World Cup debut in the process, having been an unused sub in all three of their group stage games. This was his 27th cap for La Tri, despite still being just 19 years of age. There is clearly something about him if he can put it all together. 

There is more action for Chelsea players later on today, although neither Trevoh Chalobah nor Reece James are expected to play any role in England's clash with DR Congo, meanwhile Mamadou Sarr and Nicolas Jackson's Senegal will play Mike Penders' Belgium later on. Out of those three, Jackson is the most likely to play any part in the game. Perhaps Sarr at a push, but let's see.