David De Gea, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Thiago join Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho and Arsenal’s Gabriel in list of big name players who missed out on World Cup squad selection

The best players in the world have this week been celebrating being named in their country’s World Cup squad.

Unfortunately for some, they’ll be watching the 2022 edition on the television like everybody else.

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Stars such as Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah won’t feature due to their countries not qualifying.

Meanwhile, Paul Pogba, Reece James and Timo Werner miss out through injury.

But others are dealing with simply not making the cut for Qatar as their national team managers name their 26-man squads.

To say there’s some big players missing out is an understatement.

Here, talkSPORT.com takes a look at the unlucky players who will miss out on the chance to compete on the grandest stage of all.

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Jadon Sancho (England)

The Manchester United winger was one of the more high-profile absences in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

The winger moved to Old Trafford for a fee of £73million last summer but has struggled to show anywhere near the sort of form that fans witnessed during his time at Borussia Dortmund.

With the likes of Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka all showing excellent form this season, the 22-year-old simply wasn’t able to reignite his season in time for the tournament.

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Renato Sanches (Portugal)

One of the most curious careers in modern football history.

Sanches was regarded as one of the best young players on the planet after breaking through at Benfica and winning Young Player Of The Tournament as Portugal won Euro 2016, but after moving to Bayern Munich things went a little bit south.

Despite a woeful loan spell with Swansea in 2017/18, the midfielder found his feet with Lille in Ligue 1 before joining Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain this summer, but he hasn’t landed a spot in Portugal’s squad for the World Cup.

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Ryan Gravenberch (Netherlands)

One of the most talented young players in world football won’t be playing at the World Cup.

Since joining Bayern Munich from Ajax in the summer, the 20-year-old has made 16 appearances for the German giants, however with only three starts to his name you can see why he hasn’t been included by Louis van Gaal.

Interestingly, Gravenberch is the only available player that came in the top 10 for the Kopa Trophy this not to be selected for World Cup – however we’re sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of the midfielder in the years to come.

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Roberto Firmino (Brazil)

One of the more unfortunate players to miss out on the tournament is the Liverpool forward.

The 31-year-old has barely put a foot wrong for Jurgen Klopp’s side and continues to play a key role in attack despite the arrival of £85m-man Darwin Nunez at Anfield.

Unfortunately, the 55-cap Brazilian striker plays for a nation with more depth than the Atlantic ocean, meaning that he’s been squeezed out by an attacking department that includes Neymar, Richarlison, Antony, Gabriel Martinell, Gabriel Jesus and Vinicius Jr.

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Ivan Toney (England)

A player whom many considered to be a natural understudy for Harry Kane, Toney just missed out on a spot In England’s squad.

Despite being a goalscorer, a penalty specialist and an all-round talismanic figure for Brentford, the striker missed out on a spot in the squad due to the form of Marcus Rashford and Callum Wilson.

His exclusion will be an almighty blow for Toney, but given his strength of character there’s no doubt that the setback will be used to fuel him moving forward.

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Sven Botman (Netherlands)

The towering centre-back moved to Newcastle over the summer with the reputation of being the next big centre-back in the mould of Virgil van Dijk.

Unfortunately for him, despite being a regular starter for Eddie Howe’s side, it wasn’t enough as the 22-year-old was left out of Louis van Gaal’s 26-man squad.

It’s a major setback, but given his start to life at St James’ Park, Botman is a player who will be central for both club and country in the years to come.

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Sergio Ramos (Spain)

One of the most decorated players in international football, it’s going to be very weird having a World Cup without Sergio Ramos.

The central defender has won 180 caps for Spain and was part of the group who won the competition in 2010 – the start of a golden generation for the country.

Now 36, Ramos is in the autumn of his career and will have to watch the country’s younger stars take to Qatar in the hope of recreating the success that he enjoyed on the international stage.

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David De Gea (Spain)

The Manchester United goalkeeper is without doubt one of the highest-profile stars not to be selected by his country.

On his day, De Gea is one of the best shot-stoppers in world football, however his lack of ball-playing ability seems to have seen him drop down the pecking order under Luis Enrique.

Despite playing every minute of the 2018 World Cup, the 32-year-old hasn’t featured for his country since September 2020 and therefore his exclusion seemed somewhat inevitable.

Kepa Arrizabalaga (Spain)

Another Premier league goalkeeper who failed to make the cut under Enrique.

Despite making Spain’s initial 55-man squad for the World Cup, Kepa failed to make the cut for the reduced 26-man traveling party, with Enrique preferring Unai Simon, Robert Sanchez, David Raya.

At 28 years of age, the stopper is very much in his prime of his career and will be hoping that his recent increased role at Chelsea could see his international hopes revisited in the months and years ahead.

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Thiago (Spain)

Seemingly another victim of Enrique’s desire to develop the next generation of Spanish stars.

At 31 years of age, the midfielder certainly isn’t past it and has shone in his 82 appearances since joining Liverpool just over two years ago.

Unfortunately for him, his age means that this may have been his last chance to play in a World Cup for Spain as he will be 35 when the next competition rolls around.

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Mats Hummels (Germany)

The experienced defender is regarded as one of the best of the modern era, but Hummels will be sitting this competition out.

The 33-year-old has been dropped by Hansi Flick for the competition, despite making 76 appearances for his country.

He’s been replaced by Borussia Dortmund teammate Nico Schlotterbeck and Southampton’s Armel Bella-Kotchap who both made the cut.

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Gabriel Magalhaes (Brazil)

One of the most surprising exclusions given his elite performances in the Premier League this season.

Gabriel has been a colossus at the heart of Arsenal’s defence as they continue to reach new heights in the league.

The 24-year-old has put in some complete displays but failed to make the cut, something that is even more painful given teammates Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli will be heading to Qatar with Brazil in the coming day.

“We knew how much it to meant to Gabriel to be selected for the national team, but unfortunately they didn’t have the space this time,” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said.

“The good news is he’s young and will have other opportunities.”

AFP