Unfortunately, there are some players who would definitely have featured for their national teams but will miss the World Cup in Qatar through injury.
And, with clubs still set to pack in a number of games before the international break, there is a risk that this list could grow even longer. Here are some of the players who will definitely miss out this time.
The defending champions France will have to make do without N’Golo Kanté in the heart of their midfield. He picked up a hamstring injury playing for Chelsea against Spurs in August, and was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a relapse during his recuperation process.
His Chelsea team mate Reece James also will not be on the plane to the Middle East with England, for whom he seemed a certain starter. He injured his knee playing in the Champions League against AC Milan, and he will be in a knee brace for a month at least.
Another Premier League player who will not be making the trip is Liverpool’s Diogo Jota. He picked up a calf injury during his team’s 1- 0 victory over Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp has now confirmed he is out of the tournament.
Argentina have been deprived of the services of forward and playmaker Paolo Dybala. Playing for Roma against Lecce in Serie A, he was substituted with muscle injury, and it was later confirmed that he had torn his quadriceps muscle, keeping him out of the game until 2023.
Another Roma player to miss out is Gini Wijnaldum, who was in line to captain the Netherlands at the World Cup. He had just joined the Serie A club on loan from PSG in the summer, when he fractured a tibia in training.
Meanwhile Argentina could also be without winger Angel Di Maria. The Juventus player picked up a thigh injury playing in the Champions League against Maccabi Haifa, and the odds are against him being fit enough for the World Cup.
Alexander Isak was Newcastle United’s big money signing from Real Sociedad in the summer, but his career in England had barely started before he picked up a thigh injury whilst training with the Swedish national team during the September international break. And he since aggravated the injury and with his club manager Eddie Howe saying that he does not expect him to play for his team again this year, his participation at the World Cup seems very unlikely.
