The 2022 Qatar World Cup might well be only a distant dream for Belfast-born Jonny Evans, but as the club captain of Leicester City, and his place in the team coming under threat, Evans will no doubt be keeping an eye on how his teammates are getting on.
Leicester players heading home early
Already there are plenty of Leicester City players heading home, and although Evans obviously wouldn’t admit it, he must be quietly thanking the likes of England and Croatia for ensuring a good few of his fellow Leicester teammates have a couple of extra weeks preparing for the resumption of the Premier League.
The Belgians are one of a number of big-name casualties at the World Cup, along with the likes of Denmark and Germany. The Danes were knocked out by Australia, who now face Argentina. You can bet on Argentina v Australia if you think the Socceroos can cause another upset, the Aussies are a huge 14/1 to beat the current Copa America champions.
Elsewhere, Japan, who accounted for Germany, will face Croatia, who – along with the help of Morocco – knocked out the Belgians. So will Belgium’s early exit help Evans get his place back in the team ahead of the Premier League resumption?
Where next for Evans and Leicester?
The Foxes will take on Newcastle United at the KP Stadium on Boxing Day. This gives manager Brendan Rodgers plenty of time to get his goalkeeper and the Belgian trio back into the right frame of mind after this week’s disappointments.
Rodgers will still be short of three players for the time being, with James Maddison (England), Nampalys Mendy (Senegal), and Daniel Amartey (Ghana), still in Qatar – although Maddison or Mendy will obviously be heading home soon. This will have an impact, although far less of the impact the club would have felt had Belgium reached the final.
Leicester was on the up before the mid-season break
After a disappointing start to the season that saw the Foxes rooted to the bottom of the table for a considerable amount of time, Leicester found form just before the break for the World Cup. Four wins from five matches have seen them climb to 13th, and four points above the relegation zone. The last was a 2-0 win away at West Ham.
Unfortunately for Jonny Evans, he hasn’t featured in any of those matches due to an ongoing calf injury. The Ulsterman hasn’t featured for the Foxes since the defeat to Bournemouth, and with the team now on a good run of form, will he be able to force his way back into Brendan Rodgers’ starting eleven?
Going against Evans is the fact that he was on the side when the Foxes were conceding goals heavily in the early part of the season. But not, when the team started to defend better! Whether any blame can be contributed to the central defender remains to be seen.
The mid-season break could be good for Evans though. There will be question marks hanging over the players returning from Qatar, with regard to fitness and their mental states. The resumption will be more like the start of a new season, and all places could be up for grabs, come Boxing Day.
Discover more from LoveBelfast
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
