These are the star players who will NOT be in action at the 2022 World Cup

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar will start in just one month, and many top international players cannot wait to show their skills at this final round. Almost every world star will be on display at the tournament, including Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin de Bruyne, Robert Lewandowski and brand new Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema. Despite the fact that the final tournament is bulging with big names, a lot of good players will not make it to Qatar. Poor results in the qualification and injuries are among the reasons we won't be seeing a lot of star players in action. We have put together a top ten for you, plus a list of players you might not have thought of, but for whom it's a shame they won't be there.

1. Erling Braut Haaland

The Norwegian striker has been breaking every record in the book for several seasons now. Many football experts are convinced that the tall blond striker is going to win at least one Ballon d'Or in his career. However, it is going to be difficult to do that in years when the World Cup is held. Many players and journalists base their opinions on performances at the most important football tournament in the world. Haaland, however, is from Norway, which has not yet managed to qualify for the World Cup this century. The country will not be there in 2022 either, finishing third in a group with the Netherlands and Turkey, among others.

2. N'Golo Kanté

Kanté was an indispensable player for France at the 2018 World Cup. The Chelsea defensive midfielder featured in all matches and managed to win the tournament with his country. Four years later, the tournament passes him by. Kanté has been struggling with a muscle injury since August, and national coach Didier Deschamps recently indicated that he will not recover in time to make the tournament. As such, the little tank remains at 53 international appearances for the time being.

3. Mohamed Salah

Salah has developed into a world-class player in recent years at Liverpool. The winger is good for at least 20 goals every year in the Premier League and was twice voted the best footballer in Africa. In 2018, he qualified for the World Cup in Russia with his country Egypt, where he accounted for Egypt's only two goals at that tournament. This edition however, the striker will not be there. Egypt lost the final playoff after penalties to Senegal, the Netherlands' opponent in November. Salah missed, as did two teammates, after being shone full in the eyes by laser beams from the crowd.

4. David Alaba

Real Madrid defender Alaba also failed to qualify for the World Cup with his country. Austria have a decent squad, with many players who are holding their own in the major European competitions. However, the country finished fourth in the group, behind Denmark, Scotland, and Israel. Despite this, because of their strong Nations League performance, the country still managed to qualify for the playoffs, in which Alaba and co lost to Wales.

5. Andrew Robertson

Liverpool's regular left-back has the same problem as Salah, Haaland and Alaba. His country Scotland is not strong enough to qualify for the World Cup. Scotland managed to finish second in their group, but lost to Ukraine in the playoffs. This leaves Robertson with zero World Cup appearances, as Scotland has failed to qualify every time this century.

6. Gianluigi Donnarumma

May we be shocked that this world-class goalkeeper is not here? In 2020 he won the European Championship with his country, and in 2021 he was named the best goalkeeper in the world. Yet he, along with a whole army of other top footballers, will not be there in Qatar this winter. Italy are sixth in the world rankings, won the World Cup no fewer than four times and were in the semifinals eight times. The country only managed to come in second place in the group behind Switzerland, which can happen. Being eliminated by humble North Macedonia in the playoffs, however, is a mortal sin, leaving Italy out for the second time in a row. Donnarumma captains his nation these days, but he is yet to make his debut at a World Cup.

7. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

A World Cup without Zlatan is like a piece of apple pie without whipped cream. At age 41, the world star is still good for goals in a top league, but he has been injured all season. Sweden also failed to qualify for the World Cup, losing to Poland in the playoffs. The country could have qualified directly, but lost the last group match against rivals Spain.

8. Ronald Araujo

Unlike almost everyone else on this list, the Barcelona defender did manage to qualify for the World Cup with his country Uruguay. However, in September things went wrong in a friendly against Iran. The 23-year-old was subbed off after just four minutes and saw his World Cup dream shattered. Yet he still holds out a small glimmer of hope for participation. His injury is healing well, but the latest reports indicated that it is very unlikely Araujo will make it to the World Cup.

9. Diogo Jota

Yet another player who had simply joined his country Portugal's selection in November to compete in the World Cup. Last weekend, however, disaster struck for the striker, who is usually a regular with Portugal. Although Liverpool surprisingly beat Manchester City by 1-0, Jota will have felt little reason to celebrate. He had to leave the pitch with a calf injury, and will miss the World Cup as a result.

10. Riyad Mahrez

Is this one of the most underrated footballers of the last five years? Mahrez is almost never mentioned as a star player at Manchester City, but he has been a starter for the past five years, with a respectable number of goals and assists. In 2014, he represented his country Algeria against Belgium at the World Cup, but eight years later he is not there. The North African nation lost 2-1 to Cameroon in the decisive playoff match. In extra time, Algeria scored in the 118th minute and Mahrez and they looked like they were heading for the World Cup. In the 124th minute, with a few seconds left on the clock, Cameroon scored however, leaving Algeria devastated.

Missing players at the 2022 World Cup

- Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham Hotspur/Sweden): Injured + not qualified

- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal/Norway): Not qualified

- Federico Chiesa (Juventus/Italy): Not qualified

- Oleksandr Zinchenko (Arsenal/Ukraine): Not qualified

- Georginio Wijnaldum (AS Roma/Netherlands): Injured

- Davinson Sanchez (Tottenham Hotspur/Colombia): Not qualified

- Alexis Sanchez (Olympique Marseille/Chili): Not qualified

- Reece James (Chelsea/England): Injured

- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Chelsea/Gabon): Not qualified

- Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid/Slovenia): Not qualified

- Victor Osimhen (Napoli/Nigeria): Not qualified

- Franck Kessie (FC Barcelona/Côte d'Ivoire): Not qualified

- Ricardo Pereira (Leicester City/Portugal): Injured

- Milan Skriniar (Internazionale/Slovakia): Not qualified

- Naby Keita (Liverpool/Guinee): Not qualified

- Ciro Immobile (Lazio/Italy): Not qualified

- Duvan Zapata (Atalanta/Colombia): Not qualified

- Arturo Vidal (Flamengo/Chili): not qualified

- Marcel Sabitzer (Bayern Munich/Austria): Not qualified

- Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain/Italy): Not qualified

- Luis Diaz (Liverpool/Colombia): Injured + not qualified

- Stefan Savic (Atletico Madrid/Montenegro): Not qualified

- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli/Georgia): Not qualified

- Kieran Tierney (Arsenal/Scotland): Not qualified

- Jorginho (Chelsea/Italy): Not qualified

- Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund/Côte d'Ivoire): Injured + not qualified

- Samir Handanovic (Internazionale/Slovenia): Not qualified

- Scott McTominay (Manchester United/Scotland): Not qualified

- Edin Dzeko (Internazionale/Bosnia & Herzegovina): Not qualified

- Konrad Laimer (RB Leipzig/Austria): Not qualified

- Hakan Calhanoglu (Internazionale/Turkey): Not qualified

- Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Internazionale/Armenia): Not qualified

- Marko Arnautovic (Bologna/Austria): Not qualified

- Juan Cuadrado (Juventus/Colombia): Not qualified

Who do you see winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar? Brazil is the top favourite at the betting shops with a odd of 5.50. The Netherlands ranks a modest seventh with a odd of 13.00.

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