Chelsea players may have had a disappointing season but here are five who would be crucial for their nations at the World Cup

N’Golo Kante (France)

Widely regarded as one of the best and most hardworking midfielders in world football, Kante is expected to have a major role in Didier Deschamps’ side. Expect to see him playing in front of the centre-backs and acting as a shield for the back 4.

Kante will be tasked with curtailing the movements of the most advanced midfielders of the opposing teams and given how he has played since he made his  Les Bleus  debut in 2016, France will be thankful for his bustling presence in the team.

Gary Cahill (England)

Even Cahill will admit that the 2017-2018 season wasn’t his finest in a Chelsea shirt but his inclusion on the England list shows that he is still a very good defender and will be crucial to the Three Lions’ chances of doing anything at the World Cup.

He is expected to be the old head/calming influence at the back for an admittedly uninspiring England side and will be expected to once again put his body on the line in service of his nation.

Victor Moses (Nigeria)

Moses may not be one of the most important players in an attacking sense for Chelsea but for the Super Eagles, he is an absolutely crucial element of the attacking play.

Nominally a wingback in manager Conte’s preferred 3-4-3 formation, the former Wigan star is the preferred right winger for Nigeria’s manager Gernot Rohr and is expected to be the senior player driving the Eagles forward at the World Cup.

Nigeria no longer has the flair players of old, so stylish football has been replaced by solidity as it is expected that the team will make itself compact and hard to beat at the World Cup while looking to use the pace of Moses to counter-attack teams.

His direct style of play, pace, ability to surge into the opposition box and crossing mean that the Nigerian team will be relying on Moses to provide a cutting edge as the face up against more technically accomplished teams in Croatia and Argentina in Group D at the World Cup.

Olivier Giroud (France)

Despite the abundance of attacking talent possessed by the French team (a team that dropped the likes of Anthony Martial, Alexandre Lacazette, Wissam Ben Yedder to name a few), Giroud is almost certain to start for France at the World Cup, a proposition that normally leaves outsiders baffled.

He has a great understanding with Greizmann and with wingers like Florian Thauvin, Thomas Lemar and fullbacks like Benjamin Mendy in the French side, Giroud will get plenty of quality deliveries which given his superb aerial abilities, have a very good chance of ending up in the back of the net.

Eden Hazard (Belgium)

The standout player in a team filled with outstanding talent, Belgium will need their talismanic number 10 to be at his shimmering and shining best if the Red Devils are to finally cast aside the tag of underachievers which has unfortunately been attached to it.

With a stellar support cast (Kevin de Bruyne, Dries Mertens and a lot more), Russia 2018 might just be the tournament for Chelsea’s golden boy to show that he is a truly world-class talent.