In ten days-time the 2018 World Cup will commence.
For some, it is the end of a four-year wait for the greatest tournament in football to return.
For others, it is just an inconvenience ahead of the return of the domestic season.
For me, it sits somewhere in between, regular readers of Vital Chelsea will know I’m not a great lover of international football.
But, this time around, I have to admit I’m a little more excited than usual.
The reason being that I have an inkling that one of the European sides could surprise more than a few people and it’s a side that has three Chelsea players confirmed as being in its 23-man squad.
The side, if you haven’t guessed is Belgium.
Today it was confirmed that Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and Michy Batshuayi have all made the final twenty-three man squad.
For Hazard, it is the perfect stage to showcase his skills, the time is ripe for our jewel-in-the-crown to become the superstar on the world stage we all know he is capable of being, hopefully, his skills and pace will get the protection needed from the officials appointed.
Belgium are, of course, in the same group as England, the clash will be a mouth-watering one with Hazard obviously identified as the danger man by Gareth Southgate, wary that if England needs to get a result against Belgium, to qualify, they can’t let Hazard dictate the game.
England were blessed with a generation of footballers that were described as golden, but they never quite fulfilled their potential. Belgium, I feel, are in the same situation. They may not go on to win the tournament, but I fancy them to at least reach the semi-finals, how about you?
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