Thiago Silva is fully cognizant of what is about to happen. Every Brazil player’s ultimate passion is the World Cup, but for a senior figure like him, someone with so much experience, the man who will likely lead his team in Qatar, the tension is amplified even more.
Silva has undoubtedly noticed the approaching finals since his country was eliminated from the 2018 competition by Belgium in that thrilling quarterfinal, which will begin on November 20. The feeling within the club is quite apparent that everything has been building up to this point for him since he joined Chelsea in the summer of 2020.
Graham Potter, the manager of Chelsea, is not deluding himself. Everybody is keeping a half-eye on the World Cup, he claimed. “Regardless of the nation, we’d be kidding ourselves if we didn’t believe that to be the case.” But since it will be his fourth for Brazil, there is unquestionably a half-eye.
However, Silva’s capacity for compartmentalization and maintaining that air of authority is one of the things that elevates him. It was evident in his performance during Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League victory over his former team Milan at Stamford Bridge. The performance had the home crowd cheering, getting up from their seats, and chanting his name.
Potter must make a decision on Silva for Saturday’s home game against Wolves despite the absence of Wesley Fofana, another of his central defenders. Silva completed the entire match on Wednesday in addition to playing the full 90 minutes in last Saturday’s 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace. He undoubtedly needs a break now that he’s 38. After the Frenchman injured a knee against Milan, Potter has ruled Fofana out for “a few weeks.”
However, if Silva plays, no Chelsea supporter would be surprised to see his signature chilly smoothness, which will likely stand out more against Diego Costa’s fire. After returning to the Premier League as a free agent last month, the former Chelsea striker expects to play.
There were a few defensive plays by Silva against Milan that not only energized his team but also appeared to deflate the visitors. Overall, Silva’s performance against Milan was consistent with what he has shown this season.
