The FIFA World Cup serves as the ultimate exhibition of the world’s top footballers, and Qatar 2022 is expected to present a special challenge for those participating.
Since FIFA insisted on moving the competition to the Middle East, the spectacle of a tournament during the winter months in Europe and North America has drawn a lot of interest. However, the demands it will impose on the domestic seasons in Europe have sparked criticism.
Nevertheless, there will be some significant names left out despite the attention being paid to the countries and celebrities on exhibit in Qatar. Some truly world-famous athletes won’t be boarding the aircraft since they weren’t able to join their national teams.
Eric Cantona, George Weah, Ryan Giggs, George Best, and Alfredo Di Stefano are just a few of the legendary players who are notorious for having never participated in a World Cup, and 2022 will add more names to that awful list.
Below are the ten football stars that won’t be attending the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
The storied striker had been debating international retirement for some time, but he made himself available as Sweden advanced through the UEFA qualification round in search of a position.
Ultimately, Poland defeated Sweden 2-0 in the playoff Path B championship match, keeping Zlatan at home for the finals in Qatar. Ibrahimovic was introduced for the final 10 minutes of the match against Poland after the side had fallen behind by two goals.
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Senegal and Egypt met in the CAF World Cup qualifying final round, with a home and away two-legged contest to determine a spot in the World Cup. This happened barely a month after Egypt was eliminated by Senegal on penalties in the AFCON 2022 final.
In the World Cup qualifiers play-off, the two nations were tied after two 1-0 victories for each home team, forcing a second round of penalties. In the penalty shootout, Liverpool’s Salah missed a spot-kick as Senegal fans attacked the Egyptian players with laser pointers.
Erling Haaland (Norway)
As a result of his goal-scoring prowess, Haaland has become one of the most talked-about players in Europe. Manchester City won the race to recruit him before the start of the current Premier League season, and Haaland has already set numerous records during his brief stay in England.
According to Opta, the Norwegian star has been the quickest player in Premier League history to reach 10 goals in a season after doing so in only six games.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
Following his high-profile departure from Arsenal, Aubameyang returned to the Premier League in September after moving to Chelsea from Barcelona.
Nevertheless, despite his two pivotal goals in the qualification round, Egypt’s Mo Salah’s team edged out Gabon in the fight for a CAF play-off position.
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Mahrez has a lot of experience playing on a huge platform for Manchester City in club football, but he won’t be at the World Cup because Algeria didn’t make it.
Algeria was eliminated from the African playoff after losing 2-1 in the second leg following extra time, despite winning the first game 1-0 against Cameroon.
David Alaba (Austria)
Real Madrid’s David Alaba won’t be traveling to the World Cup after Austria’s playoff ambitions were dashed by a 2-1 loss to a Wales team led by Gareth Bale.
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
Due to away goals, Nigeria was defeated by Ghana in the last round of African World Cup qualification, and as a result, the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the World Cup for only the second time in the previous eight tournaments.
The 23-year-old Napoli striker Victor Osimhen was unable to advance his team to the finals in Qatar because he failed to score in the home and away legs.
Luis Diaz (Colombia)
Colombia and Diaz won’t be attending the tournament in Qatar despite progressing past the group rounds in each of the last two competitions. In the CONMEBOL qualification tournament, they placed sixth.
By just one point, they were denied fifth place and the opportunity to compete in the international playoff against either UAE or Australia.
Colombia only managed to win five of its 18 games, and too many of those games ended in draws for them to accrue enough points to advance.
Martin Odegaard (Norway)
After moving permanently to North London at the beginning of 2021–2022, Odegaard has established himself as an important member of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal squad.
However, despite taking over as Norway’s captain in 2021, he failed to motivate Stale Solbakken’s team. As a result, the former Real Madrid player will be watching the World Cup at home with Haaland.
Franck Kessie (Ivory Coast)
The midfielder Kessie has had a successful few months since joining Barcelona when his contract with AC Milan expired.
Nevertheless, he won’t be at the World Cup regardless of his club switch because Ivory Coast lost their last group match against Cameroon, advancing the Indomitable Lions in their place.
