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Twenties: Star soccer players who won’t play in the 2022 FIFA World Cup
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, that will commence in November, is already much anticipated. However, some notable players whose countries did not make it past the qualifiers won’t be able to take part. Here are a few of them.
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Highest scorer: Chile's Alexis Sanchez (second right) vies for the ball during the team’s South American qualification match for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup at the San Carlos de Apoquindo Stadium in Santiago on March 29. (AFP/Pool/Alberto Valdes) (AFP/Alberto Valdes)
T
em>Twenties is a column where contributors share top 20 lists of anything and everything of interest, from food and history to pop culture and lifestyle.
The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious soccer tournament on Earth. No player wants to be left out of the competition. So far, 29 countries have secured their place in one of the 32 spots in this year’s event. However, some notable players whose countries did not make it past the qualifiers won’t be able to take part. Here are a few of them.
1. Jan Oblak
Atletico Madrid player Jan Oblak has been called the best male goalkeeper in the world. The Slovenian is one of the few players to have won the Ricardo Zamora trophy, an award given to the goalkeeper with the lowest average goals conceded per game in Spain’s first tier league, five times. Unfortunately, with Slovenia again not qualifying, Oblak will have to wait for another chance to play at the World Cup.
2. Edin Dzeko
Widely considered the most successful Bosnian player, Inter Milan forward Edin Dzeko failed to repeat the heroic achievement of the 2014 World Cup qualifier. Bosnia and Herzegovina finished fourth and only managed to win once in eight qualification matches.
3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Barcelona's new striker Aubameyang, who moved from Arsenal in January, will not be taking part in the World Cup with Gabon. The country only registered seven points, finishing second in group F of Africa’s World Cup qualifiers.
4. Erling Haaland
Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland is one of the most wanted players in today’s world soccer league. With the club, he has recorded 80 goals for the past three seasons. Even though he scored one third of Norway's goals in the qualification matches, the country was eliminated after losing to the Netherlands.
5. Sebastien Haller
Ajax Amsterdam player Sebastian Haller is the current goal scorer in the Netherlands’ top tier league. In the Champions League, he equaled Cristiano Ronaldo's record of having scored in every group stage match. However, the Ivory Coast striker had to witness his country fail to advance to the World Cup for the second consecutive time.
6. Lucas Hradecky
Slovak-born Finnish goalkeeper Lucas Hradecky has been a key figure for Bayer Leverkusen since joining the club in 2018. With the Finland senior team, he has played 75 times since 2010. Unfortunately, this year, he had the bad luck of – for the first time – not playing in the World Cup.
7. Stefan Savic
For the past seven years, Stefan Savic has been playing an important role as a central defender for Atletico Madrid’s achievements in Spain and Europe. His country, Montenegro, however, had no luck in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, as it was placed in the same group as stronger teams like the Netherlands and Turkey.
8. Henrikh Mkhitaryan
In early march, AS Roma striker Henrikh Mkhitaryan announced his retirement from Armenia’s national football team after scoring 32 goals in 95 matches during his 15-year journey. Being the highest goal scorer with the squad in the qualifying stage was not enough for Armenia to secure a place in the World Cup.
9. Mohamed Salah
Salah is a prolific goal scorer and has gained numerous accomplishments with Liverpool. The Egyptian's remarkable achievements include helping his club win the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup. Lamentably, he had to witness his club teammate Sadio Mane celebrating Senegal’s qualification for the World Cup.
10. David Alaba
During his 12 years as a professional, Alaba has won 28 trophies. The Austrian defender is considered the best replacement for Sergio Ramos after the Spanish player's departure to Paris Saint Germain. Sadly, he had to see his Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bale score the winning goal for Wales in the play-off to eliminate Austria.
11. Hasan Calhanoglu
Whoscored, a website focusing on in-depth analysis of soccer data, named Inter Milan midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu one of the top-rated players in the first half of the season of Italy’s Serie A. Nonetheless, his effort to help Turkey qualify for the World Cup was ultimately to no avail.
12. Jorginho
Jorge Luiz Frello Filho, widely known as Jorginho, aimed to score more goals after winning the European Cup with Italy and UEFA Champions League with Chelsea. In last year’s interview with Sky Sport, the midfielder said that he dreamt of winning the World Cup. Italy’s shocking loss to North Macedonia ended his aspiration for this year.
13. Tomas Soucek
Soucek played a massive role when his club, West Ham, defeated Sevilla in the second round of the UEFA Europa League. However, his World Cup dream did not come true as Sweden beat Czech Republic in a playoff match.
14. Naby Keita
Like his Liverpool teammates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, the midfielder Naby Keita also has a positive impact on the club. His country, Guinea, however, was unable to win any games in Africa’s qualifying group stage.
15. Alexis Sanchez
Lauded as the best Chilean player of his generation, Inter Milan winger Alexis Sanchez has triumphed with three European clubs. He is also the footballer with the most appearances on and highest number of goals for the Chile national team. Nevertheless, poor results during the qualification ended his World Cup hopes for the second time in a row.
16 . Juan Cuadrado
Juventus midfielder Juan Cuadrado is a versatile footballer who has represented Colombia in 111 matches, being the second-most capped player in the country. Despite his extensive experience, Colombia could not make the most of the qualifying phase and was eliminated from World Cup contention.
17. Alex Iwobi
Everton winger Alex Iwobi was a key player for the Nigerian team, yet he did not play in the last two important matches in the qualifier stage. In an interview conducted by a local radio station in Ghana, former Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr said, “Nigerians missing Iwobi is not good.” The three-time Africa Cup of Nations winner had to forget the dream after being eliminated by Ghana.
18. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Five year after announcing his retirement in June 2016, Ibrahimovic returned to the Swedish team last year. Unfortunately, the striker missed out on this year’s tournament, which would have been his third World Cup. The 40-year-old player has not decided his future, as he thinks about retiring from soccer or renewing his contract with AC Milan.
19. Riyad Mahrez
Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez was born in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles and has French citizenship, but he chose to represent Algeria. After his country's 2018 World Cup qualifying failure, the Algerian had a strong desire to appear in this year’s event. Unluckily for him, Cameroon’s victory on away goal in the playoff crushed his dream.
20. Kostas Tsimikas
Liverpool’s signing of Greek left-back Kostas Tsimikas might be one of the best decisions that the club has made in the past two years. The player has shown he can compete in Europe's top soccer league, yet he ran out of luck as Greece suffered early elimination from the World Cup qualifiers in November of last year.
