BACK

World Cup 2018 Absentees – Players who will miss the summer showpiece

Neill Simpson 6 th June 2018

The World Cup is almost here and while those lucky enough to have remained injury free and be selected to represent their respective countries will be putting the final preparations in place, the talent that didn’t make the cut will be planning a summer of sunshine and rest before they return for club duty.

Let’s have a look at the unlucky players that were either ruled out through injury or simply didn’t make grade for the 2018 World Cup.

Leroy Sane

This is a very difficult decision to understand, then German manager Joachim Low is a World Cup winner, vastly experienced and clearly very ruthless. Sane has had an outstanding season for Manchester City with 14 goals and 17 assists and was voted the Premier League young player of the year, however Low felt while he is still young enough to bounce back from the shock of being left out, he still isn’t ready for football at the highest level.

Have a look at City teammate Kyle Walkers reaction to his omission.

 

Dani Alves

Dani Alves was just three weeks out from the World Cup when he unfortunately suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage to his right leg during the final of the Coupe de France.

The injury would have come as a bitter blow for the former Barcelona and Juventus right back, who was hoping to play in a third and final World Cup at the age of 35. His experience would have been extremely valuable in Russia, however it appears he won’t be adding to his 106 international caps.

 

 

Mauro Icardi

Argentine manager Jorge Sampaoli had a bit of a selection nightmare, especially with the goal scoring resources at his disposal. Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Dybala and Icardi have all been in superb form for their clubs, but someone had to miss out.

The 25-year-old Inter striker has had a superb season scoring 29 goals in Serie A, the sort of form that would get him into most World Cup squads. Then look who he was up against!

Icardi now has plenty of time over the summer to discuss his future, which could see him end up at Chelsea or Juventus!

David Luiz

The passionate Brazilian seemed to have paid the price after suffering from injury and falling out with Antonio Conte at Chelsea. The former Champions League winner hasn’t been at his best since his return to Chelsea in 2016 and has only played nine games for Brazil since 2015. Hardly a surprise that he won’t feature in the tournament.

It seems that the 31-year-old isn’t too disappointed as he enjoys a break in Dubai!

 

D U B A I

A post shared by David Luiz (@davidluiz_4) on

Dimitri Payet

Didier Deschamps has so much talent at his disposal that his final selection must have given him many sleepless nights. Payet probably made his decision a little easier after being ruled out following a hamstring injury he picked up during the Europa League Final.

Payet has had an outstanding season for Marseille, however not too sure he will be missed due to the amount of talent the French have!

Alexandre Lacazette

Another talented Frenchman that missed the final cut, then look at the quality that he was up against, Kylian Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Florian Thauvin, Thomas Lemar and Nabil Fekir.

With 19 goals and 4 assists for Arsenal during his first season, it was hardly the worst start to life in London, and perhaps there is an argument for him to have been selected ahead of the Giroud.

At least he will have plenty of time to engage in his other passion of basketball and of course get a full preseason under his belt with new manager Unai Emery.

 

 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

With Sweden and Zlatan missing out in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments, unfortunately the brilliant striker misses out again in 2018. Granted he did retire from international football, and following the injury he suffered at Manchester United, it appeared his career might be over. However in true Zlatan style, he worked himself back to full fitness ahead of schedule, and a $1.5 million per year contract with LA Galaxy.

Sweden have done pretty well in qualifying without Ibra, that said this is a guy who gets better with age, “Benjamin Button,” as he once described himself.

One must ask if they can afford to leave behind 62 international goals in 116 games?

Sweden’s loss is Visa’s gain as the star is now fronting their brilliant World Cup campaign.

 

 

Jack Wilshere

Wilshere’s omission from England’s World Cup squad has divided opinion. There is no doubt that Wilshere is a talented player, however tough to argue against the fact that he hasn’t lived up to this potential at the highest level.

Only time will tell whether England manager Gareth Southgate missed a trick here. If there is one English player that can unlock a stalemate with a single moment, it is the Arsenal man.

Wilshere wasted little time getting a lad’s holiday booked after finding out he will have some spare time this summer.

 

 

Mario Götze

Four years ago it was Mario Götze that decided the World Cup Final with the winner in the 113th minute.

Unfortunately for the midfielder, injury and a loss of form in 2017, has seen him not even clock up one cap for his country, giving Joachim Low little reason to pick him. In fact, since his move to Dortmund back in 2016, he has played just 34 matches scoring only 3 goals.

Götze took to Twitter to share his disappointment, however at just 25-years-of-age, he has plenty of time on his hands and with a solid preseason and an injury free run, he will almost certainly see that form return.

 

 

Gareth Bale

I wasn’t going to include those players that didn’t qualify, although after that goal in the Champions League Final by Gareth Bale, I thought it was worth bending the rules.

With the game locked at 1-1, Gareth Bale produced a moment of sheer brilliance in the 65th minute, when he converted a bicycle kick from a Marcelo cross, quite simply one of the greatest goals you will ever see in a Champions League Final. He followed that up for good measure with a second goal in the 83rd minute, although not without the help of a second keeper blunder by Karius.

Real’s win was a fourth Champions League title for Bale, who immediately afterwards stressed his Real future is in doubt unless he gets to start more games. Needless to say this has caught the attention of several clubs, although only a handful will be able to afford a player at his absolute peak!

A change of heart might come about from the Welshman after the stunning and unexpected announcement that Zidane was going to leave the club.

Bale sadly won’t be showcasing his unbelievable talent on the biggest stage of all after Wales missed out in qualification.

 

Neill Simpson 6th June 2018
World Cup 2018