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The Foxes in Russia: Ten Leicester City players going to the World Cup

By Brenden Woldman

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City gestures during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on May 13, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kelechi Iheanacho
LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 13: Kelechi Iheanacho of Leicester City gestures during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium on May 13, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Henry Browne/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Kelechi Iheanacho /
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After speculation of him not making the squad, Leicester City striker Shinji Okazaki has been named in Japan’s final World Cup squad. With Okazaki’s inclusion, a total of ten Foxes will be playing in Russia this summer.

The 2018 World Cup is a few weeks away and the Leicester City players are among the top English clubs when it comes to the nunmber of players going to Russia.

Three other clubs from England have more players going to the World Cup. Leading are this season’s Premier League champions Manchester City with 17 players. Following the Citizens are Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur with 16 and 12 players respectively.

Leicester City are tied at fourth with Manchester United, with both clubs boasting ten Russia-bound players. What this is all to say is that Leicester have quickly become a practical destination for international talent.

 The Foxes in Russia

Ten Leicester City players from across the globe will be dressing in their countries’ kit. From England to Tunisia, here’s a list of the players from around the globe who currently wear a Leicester uniform and will be playing in Russia this summer:

Denmark: Kasper Schmeichel

England: Jamie Vardy, Harry Maguire

Japan: Shinji Okazaki

Nigeria: Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Ahmed Musa

Portugal: Adrien Silva, Ricardo Pereira

Tunisia: Yohan Benalouane

BARNET, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: Wilfred Ndidi of Nigeria pictured ahead of the International Friendly match between Nigeria and Serbia at The Hive on March 27, 2018 in Barnet, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
BARNET, ENGLAND – MARCH 27: Wilfred Ndidi of Nigeria pictured ahead of the International Friendly match between Nigeria and Serbia at The Hive on March 27, 2018 in Barnet, England. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) /

This is not a coincidence that the East Midlanders have become a club for high-quality players. Since winning the Premier League title, six of the ten mentioned above are the ones bought since then.

Talent: From home and abroad

The prestige of Leicester City over the last two years has been on another level. They have now become one of the richest clubs in the world, and due to that, they’ve been able to not only invest within their own academies but also pay for top players.

After winning the title, Claudio Ranieri spent £16 million on Ahmed Musa and £17 million on Wilfred Ndidi. At the time, both Musa and Ndidi were sought after players by clubs and they chose Leicester.

When Craig Shakespeare took over as manager, he spent £17 million for Harry Maguire, £25 million for Kelechi Iheanacho, and £22 million for Adrien Silva. Just like with Ranieri and his targets, the players that Shakespeare bought were quality players who wanted to come to Leicester.

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This trend has not changed with current manager Claude Puel, as the Frenchman brought in Ricardo Pereira for £22 million. The Portuguese international didn’t come to the King Power Stadium just because of his earlier relationship at OGC Nice with Puel.

After speaking with Puel about the recent successes at Leicester, Pereira believed in the Foxes future and the new prestige the club has shown.

Leicester City are now an attractive club that can attract young, promising talent. Of the six players going to the World Cup that have been bought since the title-winning season, five of them are under the age of 25.

City are now a club that breeds talents that have the ability to go to play on the biggest stage. However, four years ago there was a different story.

From Brazil to Russia

It is amazing to think how much Leicester have changed since the last World Cup in Brazil. The Foxes had just won their seventh Championship League title in club history and were no way near where they currently are.

At the time of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the only noteworthy international player from Leicester City was Kasper Schmeichel. The goal stopper was becoming a regular starter for Denmark, but the Danes were unable to qualify for Brazil. With the exception of Schmeichel, the Foxes were not a club that had or could produce international talent. However, this is not the case this time around.

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Leicester City will be sending ten players to the World Cup. That sentence would have seemed impossible a few years ago. Now it is a reality. They are a club that produces young, international talent. All there is now is for the Foxes to put the remaining doubts to bed in Russia.

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