FIFA World Cup 2022 is back after a gap of four years. The biggest international football tournament will be held in Qatar this time. Every player dreams of playing at the World Cup. It is the best platform to showcase your skills and capability to the world and fans. Qatar World Cup will be flooded by a lot of big footballers around the world. The players will be representing their respective nations at the World Cup. However, there are a lot of big names who will not be able to play at the World Cup in Qatar. The fans will not be able to witness some superstars because they failed to qualify for the World Cup. In this article, we will take a look at the some star footballers whose countries did not qualify for World Cup 2022.
Star footballers whose countries did not qualify for World Cup 2022
A lot of players are there who play for top European clubs but will not be present at the World Cup in Qatar just because their teams failed to qualify.
Erling Haaland (Norway)
Haaland is the most popular young footballer at the present moment. He has gained world wide attention after signing for Manchester City. He is literally a goal machine who has started breaking records in Premier League. However, despite all this, Haaland will not be able to play at the World Cup in Qatar because his country Norway failed to qualify for the tournament. Norway were placed in Group G of European World Cup Qualifiers. Norway finished at third place behind Turkey and Netherlands and lost to opportunity to get the ticket to Qatar.
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Salah is one of the best forwards in the recent years. He has already became a Liverpool legend. Salah has achieved immense success at club level with Liverpool and has won almost every trophy. However, the Egyptian King will not be seen in Qatar after his country Egypt failed to qualify for the World Cup 2022. In the CAF World Cup qualifiers, Egypt and Senegal were matched up with a home and away two-legged clash to get a place in the World Cup. Senegal defeated Egypt and won the ticket to World Cup which left Egyptian fans disappointed.
Zlatan Ibrahimovich (Sweden)
Zlatan announced his international retirement but decided to come out of it to help Sweden in qualifying for the World Cup. However, his dedication went in vain as Sweden failed to qualify for the tournament. Sweden were placed in Group B of European World Cup Qualifiers. Norway finished at second place behind Spain. In the play-off final match, Poland defeated Sweden which resulted in its disqualification.
Luis Diaz (Colombia)
Liverpool forward will not be travelling to Qatar after Colombia failed to qualify for the World Cup 2022. It was quite surprising because Colombia is a top football nation and also made it past the group stages in the last two tournaments. Unfortunately, this time, Colombia finished sixth in CONMEBOL’s qualifiers. The team performed quite poor as they were able to secure just five wins from their 18 matches.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
Aubameyang gained attention back after joining Chelsea from Barcelona in September. It was in headlines because he is a former Arsenal player and now signed for their rivals. , following his high-profile exit from Arsenal. Gabon were place in Group F of CAF World Cup qualifiers. Only the first ranked team will go to further stage. Gabon finished second behind Egypt and lost the chance to get the tickets to Qatar.
Martin Odegaard (Norway)
Odegaard has become a crucial player in Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal. He was appointed as the captain of Norway in 2021. Unfortunately he failed to lead his team to the World Cup 2022. Norway were placed in Group G of European World Cup Qualifiers. Norway finished at third place behind Turkey and Netherlands and lost to opportunity to get the ticket to Qatar.
Miguel Almiron (Paraguay)
Almiron is one of the most talked about players at present. He gained limelight after Grealish passed some comments on him. Since then Miguel Almiron has been playing on a different level. He is succeeding at Newcastle United but unfortunately the winger will have to watch the World Cup from his home. Almiron’s nation Paraguay failed to qualify for the World Cup 2022. Paraguay finished eighth in CONMEBOL’s qualifiers. The team performed quite poor as they were able to secure just three wins from their 18 matches.
David Alaba (Austria)
Alaba is a very high profile footballer. He achieved everything at Bayern Munich and came to Real Madrid for a new challenge. But unfortunately the fans will not be able to witness the star defender at the World Cup after his country Austria failed to qualify for the big event in Qatar. Austria’s last FIFA World Cup appearance came in 1998. Austria were placed in Group F of European World Cup Qualifiers. Austria finished at the fourth place but still made to the playoffs due to their performance in the UEFA Nations League. In the play off semifinals, Austria lost to Wales and lost the opportunity to travel to Qatar.
Marco Verratti (Italy)
Marco Verratti comes in the list of best midfielders. He is a crucial player for Paris Saint Germain. But he is very unlucky as he has only participated at one World Cup in 2014 edition. Italy failed to qualify for 2018 World Cup and not they will miss the 2022 edition too. Italy were placed in Group C of European World Cup Qualifiers. Italy finished at second place behind Switzerland. In the play off semifinals, they suffered a shocking defeat to North Macedonia which shattered their dreams of playing in the World Cup.
Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Mahrez is a top star in club football. He plays for one of the biggest clubs in the world, Manchester City. Mahrez has also won a lot of trophies in his club career. But unfortunately, he will not be able to participate in the biggest international football tournament as his country Algeria failed to qualify has much experience of playing on the big stage in club football for Manchester City, but he won’t be at the World Cup after Algeria failed to qualify. Despite winning 1-0 in the first leg of the African playoff against Cameroon, Algeria were eliminated after losing 2-1 in the second leg after extra-time.
Read also : – Top players who will miss FIFA World Cup 2022 due to injury
