Marc Cucurella enjoyed his own success during the international break by earning his first Spain cap since 2021, but he’s just showered one Chelsea teammate with big praise after his achievement.
Some Blues players that have been away with their countries are returning to Cobham today, with the team back in action in a few days time against Burnley in the Premier League.
Marc Cucurella should be in good spirits after his Spain appearance in a 3-3 draw with Brazil yesterday. Elsewhere, Chelsea winger Noni Madueke scored three goals in two matches for England Under-21s during the last week. Ben Chilwell started back-to-back games for the England senior team, too.
However, we’re not sure any Chelsea player can match Mykhailo Mudryk for drama and celebration in this March international break.
Mudryk has helped Ukraine qualify for this summer’s Euro 2024 tournament.
First of all, they beat Bosnia 2-1 last week in a semi-final play-off. They followed that up last night with a 2-1 win over Iceland in the play-off final.
Chelsea winger Mudryk, 23, was his nation’s hero by scoring an 84th minute winning goal from the edge of the box against Iceland.
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He celebrated with a post on Instagram after his huge moment on the international stage.
In response, Blues teammate Cucurella called him a “hero” in the comment section.
Mykhailo Mudryk is growing in confidence
Mudryk definitely strikes us as a confidence player, so it’ll be exciting to see him in these next few Chelsea matches with an extra spring in his step.
The speedster is definitely improving and becoming more effective in 2024.
He scored in his most recent league game in a victory over Newcastle United, plus looked razor sharp in the FA Cup quarter-final win over Leicester City right before the international break.
Speaking via BBC One (2:22pm, 17 March), Martin Keown said Mudryk delivered one of the best performances in a Chelsea shirt during the recent Leicester victory in the cup.
Unlike a lot of players, Mudryk seems to thrive when he joins up to play for his country.
The forward is a talisman in the Ukraine line-up and enjoys the extra responsibility, starting six of the previous seven international games.
His style and ability to play off the cuff makes him a big threat in international football, where the tactics aren’t so rigid as in club football.
