Chelsea Players at the FIFA World Cup: The Semi-Final Showdowns

Over the next couple of days, the semi finals at this summer's FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico will take place, more than a month and 100 games after the tournament began. With it, there is action for Chelsea players. 

So, let's take a look at how it all shapes up for those involved, shall we? 

To begin, the first semi final on Tuesday will take place between Malo Gusto's France and Spain. Game time has been hard to come by for the Chelsea defender during this tournament, with just 44 minutes played across the six tournaments, with four cameo appearances from the bench. He will most likely once again be amongst the subs for this one, though if they end up winning the whole thing, he probably won't care. 

This game is a rematch of the Euro 2024 semi final, which saw Spain emerge as 2-1 victors. They also beat France 5-4 in the semi final of the Nations League last summer, though the French are favourites for this one. The game will take place in Arlington, and kick off is at 20:00 BST. 

Meanwhile, Enzo Fernandez and Argentina will take on Trevoh Chalobah and Reece James' England in the second semi final on Wednesday in Atlanta, also at 20:00. There is a lot of history behind this fixture, both on and, more prominently, off the pitch. 

Last time out against Norway in the quarter finals, James made his return from injury, as he made his first appearance at the tournament since the second group stage game against Ghana.  

The Chelsea skipper was introduced to the action after 71 minutes, initially playing in the centre of midfield, but moving back to his nominal right back role 18 minutes later, where he did a really good job at locking down dangerous Norway left winger, Antonio Nusa. Meanwhile, Chalobah is still waiting for his tournament debut.

There is a hope from England fans that he will be fit enough to start in this one, but, as you would expect, nobody is holding their breath on that just yet. As for Fernandez, he has started all six of Argentina's games so far, and scored the dramatic late winner against Egypt in the round of 16. 

If Marc Cucurella hadn't left for Chelsea just before Spain's opening game, a Blues player being a World Cup winner would have been guaranteed, with all three other semi finalists having a representative. Nevertheless, go well everyone, and don't get injured.