FIFA World Cup 2022: The Missing XI

• Less than four days till the Qatar World Cup starts
• There are a few notable omissions from the Manager’s Squads
• SportsLeo takes a look at the major names missing in action from the biggest competition
  

The World Cup is always filled with Major Football stars, both young and old. However, despite being fit, a number of players who have previously made an impression at the FIFA World Cup or were anticipated to make a first-time splash will not play for their countries.  Here at SportsLeo, we built a team featuring the biggest misses by the Managers in this year’s Qatar World Cup.

David De Gea (Spain)

Spanish Goalkeeper David De Gea is set to miss the Qatar World Cup after not getting the call-up | PHOTO: Sky Sports|

Despite recent heroic performances, the Manchester United Goalkeeper didn’t get the crucial World Cup call by Spain Manager Luis Enrique. It is widely known how the Manager has questioned David’s ball-playing ability from the back, which is a requirement in today’s modern football. De Gea has, however, improved in his ball distribution from the recent Manchester United games but will still be watching the Qatar World Cup from the screens.

Ferland Mendy (France)

With the French Manager, Didier Deschamps preferring Theo Hernandez as a fullback in his World Cup squad, the Real Madrid star is set to miss out on playing for his country. Since his debut for France in 2018, he has only made 9 appearances further showing how he seems to have fallen short of Didier Deschamps’ expectations.

Sven Botman (Netherlands)

Despite his recent form with Newcastle, the Netherlands Center Back has not been picked to represent his country. The Manager, Louis Van Gaal picked Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool), Nathan Ake (Man City),  Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Jurrien Timber, Daley Blind (Ajax) and Stefan de Vrij (Inter Milan) as his centre-backs. Although the Newcastle defender has yet to make his senior International Debut, it surprised many to see him missing out.

Sergio Ramos (Spain)

Sergio Ramos is a former captain of the Spain national miss but will miss the 2022 FIFA World Cup after being left out. | PHOTO: Sky Sports|

Luis Enrique’s 26-man Squad List missed out on some big names, one of them being the Paris Saint-Germain defender Sergio Ramos. The 36-year-old defender with 180 caps for Spain has missed out on what was set to be his last World Cup. Although injury prone in his career, he has fought to be fit this season and made 19 appearances for the club with 6 Champions League starts, he too, has to watch this World Cup out.

Fikayo Tomori (England)

With Gareth Southgate backing older experienced defenders, AC Milan Defender Fikayo Tomori didn’t make the cut for England’s Qatar World Cup squad. The versatile 24-year-old defender thought he had cemented his position ahead of the likes of Harry Maguire after winning the Scudetto with his AC Milan side last season. Still, he’ll have to wait much longer for his World Cup call-up for at least another 4 years.

Thiago Alcântara (Spain)

Luis Enrique’s World Cup squad seems to be lined up with young talented players like Gavi, Pedri ( Barcelona) and Carlos Soler (Paris Saint-Germain) making the cut ahead of the Liverpool Midfielder Thiago, whose age and injury history factors playing a crucial role in his omission. The two-time Champions League winner seems to have been replaced by the young pairing of Pedri and Gavi for this upcoming World Cup.

Renato Sanches (Portugal)

Upon sight of Fernando Santos’s Portugal squad, many fans questioned the omission of Paris Saint -Germain midfielder Renato Sanches. The midfielder had earlier proven to be a great international team player after impressing in major tournaments like the EURO 2016 and EURO 2020. His move to Paris has seen him dip in form and be sidelined with injuries that haven’t helped his case either.

Ivan Toney (England)

In the first game of Group B, England will play Iran, with Ivan Toney, a noticeable miss. The Brentford talisman Striker has been left out in favour of injury-prone Callum Wilson (Newcastle).

With the goals scored per game statistics showing the better striker, Toney (0.8) and Wilson (0.7), the forward will be gutted to have been left out at home.

Roberto Firmino (Brazil)

Roberto Firmino in a previous match for the Brazil National Team. He’s set to miss this Qatar World Cup.| PHOTO: Sky Sports|

Firmino played just 20 league games for Liverpool during an injury-plagued season, and he hasn’t been part of the Brazil team since July 2021.

However, despite the fact that he has seven league goals this season in 13 games, the Brazil Manager, Tite, has decided not to choose the attacker for the World Cup.

Ante Rebic (Croatia)

Despite being part of the heroic Croatian squad that reached the World Cup final in Russia, Ante Rebic misses out on the Qatar World Cup. The AC Milan player hasn’t had the best of seasons this time, only making three Serie A starts with 3 goals from 7 appearances, with the likes of Ivan Perisic (Tottenham) and Mislav Oršić (Dinamo Zagreb)being preferred by the Manager, Zlatko Dalic.

Jadon Sancho (England)

After moving to Manchester United for £73 million last year, Sancho hasn’t been able to match his Borussia Dortmund performance. Since being cut from the England team in November of last year, he hasn’t made a comeback.

The 21-year-final old’s recollection of wearing an England jersey was his miss after the country’s loss in the 2021 Euro final penalty shootout.

Other notable misses are Gerard Moreno (Spain), Gabriel Magalhães (Brazil), Angel Correa (Argentina), Mats Hummels (Germany) and Lucas Digne (France).