There were a lot of Chelsea connections on the pitch during Portugal’s defeat to Spain at the World Cup.
Pedro Neto started for Portugal, while former Chelsea duo Joao Felix and Renato Veiga were also named in Roberto Martinez’s first XI.
On the opposite side, ex-Blue Marc Cucurella started for Spain. Reported Chelsea targets Diogo Costa and Ruben Dias featured in the game as well.
Who would you prefer to see in goal next season, Diogo Costa or Robert Sanchez?
Chelsea are being linked with the Porto keeper!
Diogo Costa's and Robert Sanchez's stats
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Diogo Costa proves he’s good enough to play for Chelsea
Chelsea have been tracking Costa, who has impressed at this year’s World Cup. He had another good game against Spain, which would have made Chelsea even more convinced about his abilities.
In the first half, the goalkeeper made a great double save and made sure his side went into half-time level.
According to Sofascore, he made five saves in total, stopping three shots from inside the box.
Spain's defender #22 Pau Cubarsi and Portugal's goalkeeper #01 Diogo Costa
Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images
Costa has been one of the best shot-stoppers in Europe for the last few years now, but he has not always received recognition because of the strength of his domestic league. However, on the biggest stage, the 26-year-old has delivered.
Renato Veiga shows Chelsea he’s a capable defender
Chelsea signed Veiga from Basel in 2024, but the defender lasted just six months in the first team.
He was loaned to Juventus in January 2025 before being sold to Villarreal. As Chelsea scour the market for a new central defender, perhaps they could do with him right now.
Veiga showed against Spain that he is a centre-back with a lot of good qualities. He was composed on the ball and contained some top attackers until getting caught out by Spain’s quick free-kick.
Veiga obviously wanted to leave Chelsea to become a regular, but you cannot help but feel that he would have been a better option than the likes of Benoit Badiashile and Tosin Adarabioyo last season.
Badiashile could not stay fit and was not convincing when he did play, while Adarabioyo really had a hard time in one-v-one situations.
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