The 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup is finally in motion with most of the world’s finest players strutting their stuff before a global audience.
Cristiano Ronaldo and his eternal rival Lionel Messi are part of the stellar cast, but there are some well-known players who will be missed solely.
FARPost looks at eight footballers who are not part of the World Cup due to their teams’ failure to qualify and injuries among others.
DAVID DE GEA
You cannot talk about Manchester United these days without mentioning the consistency of goalkeeper De Gea in an otherwise inconsistent squad.
Therefore, his exclusion from Spain’s World Cup party is very surprising. Maybe Spain coach Luis Enrique knows better than us.
MOHAMED SALAH
The Liverpool star should fault Sadio Mane and his Senegal for the World Cup absence.
Senegal denied Egypt the 2021 AFCON title and then rubbed salt on the wounds of the Pharaohs by beating them in the World Cup play-off for Africa.
MANE
All seemed for the Mane show in Qatar only for the unexpected to happen when the Senegalese attacked suffered a leg injury while playing for Bayern Munich. It was an hurt more the entire heartbroken football planet. Get well soon Mane!
N’GOLO KANTE
Injuries have not helped the cause of the World Cup and Premier League winner. Kante will be missed for his humility if not for his unparalleled box-to-box work ethic. Just watch Chelsea being overrun in midfield and you can see the gaping Kante role.
ERLING HALAAND
The absence of the Manchester City goal-scoring machine at the World Cup provides a fresh reminder that football is no longer a one-man show.
You need a scorer but also a strong defence to keep it tight at the back. It seems Norway paid the price of lacking that balance.
ROBERTO FIRMINHO
The Brazilian has been so outstanding for Liverpool this year taking advantage of the exit of the likes of Sadio Mane.
Firminho is so unfortunate to be Brazilian because that means too many players competed for his position leading to his axing from the final squad.
VICTOR OSIMHEN
The Napoli striker has been a revelation for some few years now at Napoli in Serie A and it could have been an absolute pleasure watching the Nigerian on the biggest stage.
PAUL POGBA
Every tournament ought to have its Paul Pogba, a showman of some sort to hit headlines for football and off the field stuff. Sadly, injuries have robbed fans of the sight of the France midfield star.
