Chelsea players on international duty: Who, when, how to watch on Tuesday

Welcome back to the second part of WAGNH’s international guide and if you’re interested, here is the first one.

After a riveting first week of the international break, we move to the second and (thankfully!) last one. Just like we did before, here’s a preview for all the remaining international matches that are worth watching as Chelsea fans.

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Russia vs France

Date / Time: Tuesday, March 27, 2018; 16:50 GMT, 11:50 EST, 21:20 IST

Venue: Saint-Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Referee: Gediminas Mažeika (LTU)

Forecast: Partly cloudy with expected temperatures around -2°C (28°F)

On TV: none (UK), ESPN3 (USA), none (India); elsewhere

After a 3-2 loss to Colombia despite the early 1-0 lead given by Chelsea striker Olivier Giroud, France will be looking to bounce back from the bad result. And there may not be a better opponent to do so than the hosts of the upcoming World Cup, Russia.

This match will give the present French team an opportunity to get a feel of playing in Russia before the all-important competition.

Maybe this time Kanté can score as well? That’d be swell!

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Germany vs Brazil

Date / Time: Tuesday, March 27, 2018; 19:45 GMT, 14:45 EST, 00:15 IST (the next day)

Venue: Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany

Referee: Jonas Eriksson (SWE)

Forecast: Cloudy with expected temperatures to be around 7°C (44°F)

On TV: BT Sport 2 (UK), ESPN 3 (USA), none (India); elsewhere

This is bound to be a cracking game as the top two ranked countries in the world face off against each other. Brazil are coming off a 3-0 win over Russia which included a Willian assist and our tricky winger will be looking to build from that performance as he tries to cement his place in the starting lineup.

Unlike Brazil, Germany had to play against one of the strongest squads in the world in Spain and it ended in a 1-1 tie where we didn’t get to see defender Antonio Rüdiger play. Hopefully, he will be in action against Brazil.

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Belgium vs Saudi Arabia

Date / Time: Tuesday, March 27, 2018; 19:45 GMT, 14:45 EST, 00:15 IST (the next day)

Venue: King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium

Referee: Matej Jug (SVN)

Forecast: Shower expected with prevailing temperatures at 8°C (47°F)

On TV: none (UK), ESPN3 (USA), none (India); elsewhere

Unlike teams such as England and Germany, Belgium will only play one friendly in this international break against a relatively easy opponent in Saudi Arabia. Still, this is a big match for Chelsea fans since 3 of our players could be involved in the game: Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard and loanee Michy Batshuayi.

Belgium are one of the favourites for the World Cup and look certain to make it to the knockouts as they’re in a group with England, Tunisia and Panama. Courtois and Eden are guaranteed starters for them, provided they’re fit.

However, Michy has a tough fight on his hands as he faces competition from none other than former Blue striker Romelu Lukaku. Putting in a good performance here can only help his chances of beating his teammate for a starting spot with the Red Devils.

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England vs Italy

Date / Time: Tuesday, March 27, 2018; 20:00 GMT, 15:00 EST, 00:30 IST (the next day)

Venue: Wembley Stadium, London, England

Referee: Deniz Aytekin (GER)

Forecast: Expected temperatures at 11°C (52°F) with a slight chance of shower. As is custom in London

On TV: ITV 1 (UK), Fox Sports 1 (USA), none (India); elsewhere

Italy face off against England after losing 2-0 against Argentina. It’s a match-up in which chances of a Chelsea player starting are slim since there are no Blues players in the English Team, and Italy’s Davide Zappacosta sits well below Roma’s Alessandro Florenzi in their pecking order at the right-back position. Nevertheless Zappa will still be hoping for a start — and a better result — on Tuesday.

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Nigeria vs Serbia

Date / Time: Tuesday, March 27, 2018; 19:00 GMT, 15:00 EST, 23:30 IST

Venue: The Hive Stadium, London, England

Forecast: Expected temperatures to be around 11°C or 52°F with a slight chance of shower.

On TV: none (UK), beIN SPORTS, none (India); elsewhere

One of the Chelsea players to score in the first round of friendlies was Chelsea right wing-back Victor Moses, who won and converted a penalty kick to help Nigeria win against the 6th-placed team in FIFA Rankings Poland. Of course this isn’t the first big team Nigeria has beaten recently as Nigeria beat Argentina 4-2 in November last year and hopefully, they can take this form into the World Cup.

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Spain vs Argentina

Date / Time: Tuesday, March 27, 2018; 20:30 GMT, 15:30 EST, 01:00 IST (the next day)

Venue: Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain

Referee: Anthony Taylor (ENG)

Forecast: Sunny with expected temperatures to be around 20°C or 68°F

On TV: Sky Sports (UK), ESPN3 (USA), none (India); elsewhere

The second biggest match of this round of friendlies comes in form of Spain vs. Argentina. La Furia Roja are coming off a 1-1 draw against Germany, in a game where no Chelsea player was involved. Surely we still hope that Marcos Alonso is able to make his debut for the Spanish side, with our Mr. Dependable a.k.a. César Azpilicueta earning some game-time as well.

On the Argentinian side, there is only good news as Wilfredo Caballero got his debut for his national team and made a lot of saves to round off an excellent performance which resulted in a 2-0 win for the South Americans. Hopes are that he continues to perform well for them to guarantee a World Cup spot.

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Here we are, done and dusted with the preview about Chelsea players on international duty. Unfortunately, Danish defender Andreas Christensen was sent back to Chelsea squad as a result of fatigue, so it makes little sense for us Chelsea fans to tune in for Denmark’s upcoming match against Chile.

Here’s hoping that he is feeling better now that he has gotten some much needed rest. Also, it’ll be swell if all Chelsea players can come back to us without any injuries, as we’ve had enough of those this season!