When Chelsea were thumping Charlton Athletic by five goals to one in the third round of the FA Cup, very few of the Blues players who featured would have been thinking about the end of the season. But arguably, they should have been. The end of the 2025/26 season will see the 2026 FIFA World Cup take center stage, and the fact of the matter is that every player for every big club on the planet right now is currently auditioning for their respective national teams in the hope of boarding the plane to North America in the summer.
Chelsea’s stars are, of course, no strangers to shining on the global stage. Current vice captain Enzo Fernandez was one of the stars in Argentina’s 2022 triumph, winning the Young Player of the Tournament award and catching the eye of the Stamford Bridge brass. Shortly after the Qatar showpiece drew to a close, the Blues made their move, signing the Argentine from Benfica for a then-British record fee of £106.8m.
As North America prepares to open its doors to the world, which current Chelsea players are poised to play a starring role on football’s grandest stage? Let’s take a look.
Estêvão
Brazil has been a team in turmoil in the four years since Qatar. Back in 2022, the Selecao were stunned in the quarterfinals by perennial overachievers Croatia, losing a penalty shootout after heroics from goalkeeper Dominik Livaković. That marked Brazil’s fourth quarter-final exit in the five tournaments since they claimed their record-breaking fifth FIFA World Cup trophy back in 2002. The one time they made it further? They were thumped by Germany on home turf, losing 7-1 in a disastrous semifinal in Belo Horizonte in 2014.
But despite their miserable run in recent years, online betting sites still think that the South American giants could have a significant role to play in North America. The latest World Cup odds make the Brazilians a 15/2 fourth favourite to claim a sixth World Cup this summer, solely behind Spain, England, and France in the betting charts. And much of the reason for this newfound belief is Chelsea’s teenage sensation Estêvão.
Much like Neymar, who came before him, the blistering teenage winger is the new great hope of Brazilian football, despite his tender years. He broke into the boyhood club Palmeiras’ first team at just 16 years of age, helping them to the Série A title after netting 13 goals in a stellar debut campaign. Six months later, he made the move to Chelsea, and he has grown from strength to strength since arriving at the Bridge last summer.
Now 18, Estêvão has been arguably the sole shining light for the Brazilian team in World Cup qualifying. He scored five goals throughout 2025 to spare the five-time world champion’s blushes and punch their tickets to North America. Now, he prepares to put the weight of a nation on his shoulders. But can the golden boy lead football’s most beloved team back to the promised land? We’re about to find out.
Cole Palmer
Throughout the summer of 2024, England supporters watched on in disbelief as former manager Gareth Southgate continued to overlook Cole Palmer time and time again at the European Championships. Chelsea’s talismanic playmaker duly responded by setting up England’s winner in the semifinals against the Netherlands before scoring the Three Lions’ equalizer in the final against Spain.
Now, under former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel, Cold P hasn’t had the opportunity to impress his new manager, missing all of England’s qualifiers with a persistent groin injury. However, as he gradually gets up to speed at Stamford Bridge, he has the perfect opportunity to force his way into his new national team manager’s plans.
For years under the pragmatic Southgate, England were desperate for some creativity. Sure, the ex-boss led England to back-to-back Euro finals, but they lost both. Had they had that creative presence between the lines, it could have been very different.
Well, now they do, and Tuchel doesn’t seem like the type to make the same mistakes. Expect Palmer to be thrust into the limelight should he rediscover his best form throughout the back end of the season. And if he does, there’s a very real chance that football comes home on July 19th.
Marc Cucurella
Fullback Marc Cucurella wasn’t even a part of Spain’s plans heading into Euro 2024. Then, fate changed everything. Injuries to both Valencia’s José Gayà and Barcelona’s Alejandro Baldé paved the way for the much-maligned Chelsea star’s inclusion on the plane to Germany, and he never looked back.
Cucurella made his competitive international debut in the tournament’s opening game against Croatia and would go on to be a key piece of Luis de la Fuente’s all-conquering puzzle. He became public enemy number one in Germany as his controversial handball wasn’t called in the quarterfinals against the host, before starring in the semifinal and final victories against France and Spain. That saw the former Barcelona youngster named in the Team of the Tournament, and he has started all but one game for La Roja since.
The Spanish are the favourites to win the World Cup for the second time this summer and for good reason. All the attention will be on teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal, but if Spain is to go all the way, don’t be surprised to see Cucurella have more minutes under his belt than any of his compatriots en route to the crown.
