Although the club has been represented at the World Cup since Roy Bentley appeared for England in Brazil in 1950, it took nearly half a century before one of our players got a goal in the competition.

It arrived at France ’98 and there was a tinge of irony as the goal came against England, courtesy of Romania’s Dan Petrescu.

Here we detail each of our World Cup goalscorers and when they found the net. It’s a list we hope to update in the coming weeks!

Dan Petrescu – 1998

Petrescu scored the winner against the Three Lions in Toulouse, winning a tussle for the ball with his Chelsea team-mate Graeme Le Saux before slotting a finish through David Seaman’s legs. The 2-1 victory secured Romania’s progression from the group stage.

Tore Andre Flo – 1998

The very next day, Tore Andre Flo showed the world some of his deft skills against defending champions Brazil in Marseille, cutting inside a defender and firing past Claudio Taffarel. It was the first of two Norwegian goals in the last seven minutes that earned a surprise 2-1 win.

Hernan Crespo – 2006

Hernan Crespo was in fine form at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, netting three times for Argentina in victories against Ivory Coast, Serbia and Montenegro and Mexico. The South American side reached the quarter-finals where they were beaten by the hosts.

Didier Drogba – 2006

There was another Chelsea goalscorer in the game between Argentina and Ivory Coast as Didier Drogba netted what proved only a consolation in the Elephants’ first game ever at a World Cup, although in going down 2-1 they did their country proud.

Joe Cole – 2006

Joe Cole scored arguably the best goal by a Chelsea player at a World Cup, an outrageous long-range effort to give England the lead against Sweden in 2006. Cole chested down a clearance 35 yards out before thumping a volley into the top corner of the Swedish net.

Arjen Robben – 2006

Arjen Robben calmly slotted home the winner in Netherlands’ narrow 1-0 victory against Serbia and Montenegro at the 2006 World Cup. He would score five more goals across the 2010 and 2014 editions.

Didier Drogba – 2010

Drogba is the only Chelsea player to have scored at two different World Cups. His second arrived in similar circumstances to the first, Ivory Coast’s consolation in a 2-1 group stage defeat to a South American giant, on this occasion Brazil.

Salomon Kalou – 2010

At the same tournament, winger Salomon Kalou was on the scoresheet as Ivory Coast eased past North Korea 3-0 in their final group game, although unfortunately the victory was not enough to progress.

Florent Malouda – 2010

France’s 2010 World Cup campaign ranks among the most calamitous of all time after being overshadowed by infighting. Their only goal, in a 2-1 defeat to hosts South Africa, was scored by Chelsea’s Florent Malouda.

David Luiz – 2014

David Luiz scored twice for Brazil on home soil around the time of his transfer to PSG in 2014. He bundled the ball home from close range against Chile in the last 16 before netting a spectacular free-kick in the next round as the hosts overcame Colombia.

Oscar – 2014

Oscar also found the net twice for Brazil that year. He was the star of the show in the tournament’s opening game and rounded off a brilliant individual display by scoring an impudent effort against Croatia. His other goal was scant consolation as Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany in the semi-finals.

Andre Schurrle – 2014

The scorer of Germany’s last two goals on that memorable evening was Andre Schurrle, who came off the bench to finish with aplomb having also netted against Algeria in the last 16. Schurrle would become a World Cup winner after assisting the only goal in the final as Germany defeated Argentina.

Fernando Torres – 2014

Fernando Torres also scored in Brazil, but his strike in Spain’s 3-0 win over Australia was not enough to prevent the defending champions from bowing out in the opening round.

Eden Hazard – 2018

Eden Hazard was one of the stars of the 2018 World Cup in Russia as Belgium reached the semi-finals. He scored three times, a brace against Tunisia in the group stage and then a goal in the third-place play-off as the Red Devils defeated England 2-0.

Michy Batshuayi – 2018

Michy Batshuayi, mostly used off the bench in that tournament, got in on the act in that big Belgium win over Tunisia with a clever sliding finish from a deep cross.

Raheem Sterling – 2022

Raheem Sterling was the first of five Chelsea goalscorers at the most recent World Cup, in Qatar, netting a well-taken volley in England’s 6-2 win over Iran.

Kalidou Koulibaly – 2022

Kalidou Koulibaly chose a brilliant time to score his maiden Senegal goal. After Moises Caicedo had equalised for Ecuador in a game Senegal had to win to advance, Koulibaly steered a volley into the corner to seal a 2-1 success.

Christian Pulisic – 2022

Christian Pulisic followed Koulibaly by bagging the decisive goal to help his nation progress to the knockouts. The American’s close-range effort earned a 1-0 win over Iran, with Pulisic showing bravery in abundance as he took a hefty blow in the act of scoring.

Kai Havertz – 2022

Kai Havertz came off the bench and produced two clinical finishes to ensure Germany got the better of Costa Rica 4-2 in their final group game, but it wasn’t enough as Japan’s victory over Spain in the other game sent the four-time winners home early.

Hakim Ziyech - 2022

Morocco became the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals at the last tournament and one of their stars was Hakim Ziyech, who scored in the group stage win over Canada.