It is exactly one month now until the 2022 World Cup begins in Qatar, and today we’ll cover two Chelsea stars who mean a whole lot to their respective national teams. Among the latest football scores, you’ll see that Chelsea at Brentford ended up in a goalless draw. Not such a riveting London derby, was it? That said we have a couple post-match news nuggets for you. N’Golo Kante, it was announced Tuesday, will miss the World Cup, and that’s a huge blow for France.
Christian Pulisic, the American national team captain, is still struggling for regular first team football at Stamford Bridge, and that could affect his international form.
“It’s hard,” Pulisic said, when discussing his not so major a role at Chelsea, in a recent interview.
“It’s hard when you don’t get to find a rhythm. That’s obviously where I want to be, playing consistently, and I have to earn my position there for sure. It’s tough to be in that position sometimes but it’s just about being ready and giving it everything when I do get the chance.”
He was also asked whether he would rather play his natural and preferred position (that’s left flank in the attacking midfield) and only play sparingly, or, play out-of-position (we’ve seen him as a right wing, wing back, fullback, striker, sometimes for this club) and get to play more often.
“Ideally you want to be playing regularly in your best position but any time you can be on the field is a positive,” he answered. “That’s absolutely where I want to be.”
We’ll see how, if it all, things really change as Graham Potter continues to stamp his imprint on the club.
Moving on to Kante, he is done now, for club and country, for the remainder of 2022, due to his nagging hamstring injury. The club statement reads:
“The midfielder visited a specialist with the club’s medical department to explore the options for his rehabilitation approach and it was mutually agreed for N’Golo to have surgery to repair the damage. Following a successful operation, N’Golo is now expected to be sidelined for four months.”
What a shame, as he’s such an elite player, but struggles oh so much with injuries. Among the most world class when fit, this midfield maestro has been very injury prone lately.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him and the website on Twitter and Instagram.