These football stars will not be at the World Cup!
A lot has been said about the Qatar World Cup.
Now that it is just over two weeks away we have a very good idea of who will be there, and of course who will not!
There are some notable absences among those who will not travel to Qatar.
Paul Pogba (France)
The 29-year-old has barely even played for Juventus since signing up with them over Summer. He is still recovering from his knee injury which will keep him sidelined for at least another three weeks!
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Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)
There is no nice way of putting this, Italy simply did not qualify! The UEFA Player of The Tournament in the Euro2020 championships played last year will watch proceedings from home just like the rest of us!
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Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
Another star missing the World Cup! Egypt lost out to Senegal in a penalty shootout, and his penalty sailed over the goal! This could have possibly been the 30-year-old’s last World Cup unless he is still around for the 2026 World Cup happening in Canada, Mexico and the US.
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David De Gea (Spain)
He will not add to his 45 caps for Spain having been relegated to the SIXTH choice by boss Luis Enrique. He does not even feature in the 55-man provisional squad which includes five other goalkeepers!
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Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
A Golden Boot winner at the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2015 who is leading the Napoli attach in the Italian Serie A. Nigeria did not qualify for the Qatar World Cup. The 23-year-old has age on his side so let’s hope we see more of him on the World Cup Stage in the future.
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Erling Haaland (Norway)
He has scored 21 goals in 23 matches for his home country. Norway finished third behind the Netherlands and Turkey in the World Cup Qualifiers with Haaland scoring only five goals in the group.
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Pedro Neto (Portugal)
Another player with time on his side. The Wolverhampton Wanderers winger is recovering from an ankle injury and needs to undergo surgery.
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Arthur Melo (Brazil)
Affectionately referred to as the ‘Brazilian Iniesta’ before struggling at Barcelona and Juventus he is now on loan at Liverpool. But he is currently injured and out of the World Cup!
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On the other hand, time is running out for these players:
Reece James (England)
There is still some hope for the 22-year-old right back. He injured his knee in the Champions League clash against Milan in October and has been flown to Dubai to speed up his recovery. It is close but we haven’t given up just yet on seeing him in Qatar!
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Paulo Dybala (Argentina)
He injured himself while converting a penalty for Roma against Lecce. Judging by Jose Mourinho’s (AS Roma coach) comments he is unlikely to be in Qatar for the World Cup.
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Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)
Belgium’s top scorer has been struggling with injuries all season. After being out for over two months with a hamstring injury he played for 29 minutes (over two fixtures) before problems resurfaced. He is now a major concern for Belgium ahead of the World Cup.
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Have we missed out on anyone?
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