Playing at the World Cup is often the pinnacle of a player’s career. There have been many great players over the years who have never achieved the feat, such as George Best, Alfredo Di Stefano, and, more recently, Ryan Giggs. Players may miss the greatest stage of all because their nation failed to qualify, whilst there are thousands more excellent footballers who perhaps just weren’t quite good enough.

Then, of course, there are those that suffer perhaps the cruellest blow of all, sustaining an injury that prevents them from being selected. Injuries, in particular, are vital when you are weighing up your World Cup betting tips and predictions. In this piece, we will take a closer look at all of the very biggest names that won’t be strutting their stuff in Qatar for whatever reason. And we will start with the entire squad of the European champions!

Italy

We have a separate feature looking at the national sides that will miss out on the 2022 World Cup. However, the absence of the winners of Euro 2020 means that several world-class players are automatically ruled out of Qatar 2022.

Among the biggest and best are goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Player of the Tournament at the Euros, and captain Leonardo Bonucci. Chelsea’s Jorginho, Ciro Immobile, and Napoli’s exciting forward Giacomo Raspadori will also be among those watching on from home.

Mo Salah

Mo Salah, the Egyptian King and Liverpool icon, is possibly the best player who will not be at Qatar 2022. Salah is the highest-ranked player on the 2022 Ballon d’Or list to miss out, his nation losing to Senegal in a playoff. Regarding the 2021 award, only Jorginho misses this World Cup of the players who finished above Salah (who was seventh, down from fifth this year).

Salah hasn’t quite been at his best this season for Liverpool, but he remains a world-class player. He is a three-time winner of the Premier League Golden Boot (including ties) and has twice been African Footballer of the Year, too. Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool fans will no doubt be unconcerned about his absence from the global showpiece, but their gain is certainly a loss for the wider footballing world.

Erling Haaland

If we were to list all the records that Man City’s Haaland has made a mockery of, both this season and during his still-nascent career, we would not have room to discuss any other players. As such, we’ll give you just a couple of our favourites:

• First, it took just eight matches for him to hit three hat-tricks in the Premier League. The record was 48 games before Haaland started going wild, with Ruud van Nistelrooy next, taking 59 matches!
• Second, the Norwegian forward broke the record for the most goals in his first 30 Champions League outings by notching 28… but he broke Van Nistelrooy’s record with eight games to spare, taking just 22 matches to surpass the Dutch forward’s tally!

Hopefully, Haaland’s time at the World Cup will come in 2026, with players such as Martin Odegaard (also a big miss from this tournament) of Arsenal among a young cadre of Norwegians who should be good enough, alongside their talismanic forward, to qualify. It would truly be a shame for world football if the incredible striker did not get to terrorise international defences on the biggest stage. As it is, no doubt Premier League defenders will be wondering what he will do against them in December, refreshed after his break from football!

Riyad Mahrez

Sticking with Man City players and returning to the latest Ballon d’Or list, former Leicester player Mahrez will not be at the World Cup in Qatar. Algeria missed out, meaning the mercurial and mesmerising forward can work on his game with Haaland at the City training ground. Mahrez was 13th on that list of world football’s finest, and it is a shame for neutrals that the World Cup will be without his trickery.

N’Golo Kante

We now move on to players whose nations have qualified for the tournament but who missed out for other reasons. Being aware of these players is crucial when plotting your World Cup bets. First up, we have another former Leicester player. Fifth in the 2021 Ballon d’Or, Kante misses out due to a persistent injury and will be a huge and keenly felt absence for France. The midfield dynamo was not at his best in the final when his nation won the World Cup in Russia four years ago. However, he played a huge part in them getting there and is a player his coach, Didier Deschamps, really admires.

Kante’s energy, tackling and reading of the game cannot be replaced, despite France’s strength in depth in midfield. He has struggled with a hamstring injury for much of the 2022/23 season with Chelsea, and in October, the club revealed that he would have an operation and be out for four months, missing the World Cup and, indeed, much of the season.

Reece James

Chelsea’s injury issues also include England’s right-sided defender, Reece James. It was announced the young player would miss the World Cup due to an injury sustained against AC Milan in October. Like his teammate, he requires surgery, in his case, for a knee issue.

He will be out for eight weeks, and his injury gives England boss Gareth Southgate real problems. The Three Lions appeared very strong in this position. However, with Kyle Walker’s significant injury doubt and the manager’s clear concerns about Trent Alexander-Arnold, they all look vulnerable.

Diogo Jota

Portugal and Liverpool utility forward Jota was another player to be ruled out in October. Portugal is blessed with several options in the forward areas, but even so, Jota, who has scored 10 times for Portugal in 29 games, will be missed.

He does not require surgery, according to Reds boss Klopp, but his calf issue means he will be out for an extended period. Jota played in every game for Portugal at Euro 2020 and would have been a big player in a tournament they remain dark horses to win.

Kalvin Phillips

Man City signed Kalvin Phillips from his boyhood club Leeds in the summer, but the defensive midfielder has hardly played for his new side. A combination of injuries and the huge competition for places in the City squad saw him miss out. He then suffered a recurrence of an ongoing shoulder problem, and Pep Guardiola felt he had no choice but to send him for surgery.

Whether Phillips played or not made a huge difference to Leeds’ points-per-game record, and he forced his way into the England squad. He was then very impressive for the Three Lions and was named their player of the year for 2020/21. Since he has been out, the side has struggled, and his combative performances in front of the back four and further forward will be missed.

However, as we are writing this, there is now a suggestion that Phillips may still be able to make the World Cup. This highlights the importance of checking any team and injury news before making your World Cup bets because things can change quickly.

Paul Pogba

Another example of this concerns France midfielder Paul Pogba. His performances at Manchester United may have been poor, but he has consistently been brilliant for his country. However, it has just been announced that the Juve man will definitely be ruled out of Qatar.

He sustained a knee injury back in July and was considered a serious doubt. He returned to Juve in the summer but tore his meniscus during pre-season and has not played for them since leaving Manchester United.

Deschamps hoped that he would be able to call on Pogba, who was stepping up his rehab, but we now know that the flamboyant French ace will be another big name missing from the 2022 World Cup.

In addition to the many players detailed above, many others are currently injured but still hope to make it to Qatar. Stars such as Argentina’s Paulo Dybala and Angel Di Maria and France’s Wesley Fofana and Raphael Varane are among many players with knocks who might or might not make it.