World Cup 2018: 11 football stars who won't be in Russia
- Published
Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez is one of the biggest names to miss out on the World Cup next year. His country Chile had a tough South American qualifying group, and their fate was sealed by a 3-0 defeat to Brazil in the final round of matches.
Big defender Virgil van Dijk nearly left Southampton for Liverpool in a £50m transfer this summer, but unfortunately for him he can't transfer from his national team Holland! Dutch football is in a rocky patch after the team also failed to qualify for Euro 2016, and they finished behind France and Sweden in their attempt to qualify for the Russia World Cup.
Italy are perhaps the biggest shock team to miss out on the World Cup next year. They finished second in their group and lost a play-off to Sweden. Southampton striker Manolo Gabbiadini managed only one goal in Italy's qualifying campaign.
Surely the biggest star not to be playing at the World Cup in 2018, Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale couldn't bring his magic to the Welsh national team! Bale was injured and missed his team's key last qualifier when they lost 1 nil to the Republic of Ireland.
Manchester full-back Antonio Valencia won't be charging down the wings for Ecuador next summer. They failed to qualify in their South American group - a Lionel Messi hat-trick in the final game against Argentina saw them crash out.
Another Man United star missing out is midfield playmaker Henrikh Mkhitaryan. His country Armenia have never made it to a World Cup tournament and that never looked like changing much this time round - they won only two games in the qualifiers.
West Ham's Marko Arnautović has scored some spectacular goals in the Premier League over the last few years, but he won't be scoring any at the World Cup in 2018. His side Austria, could only finish fourth in their qualifying group.
Riyadh Mahrez was a star of Leicester's Premier League winning season, but couldn't inspire Algeria to qualify for the World Cup. Mahrez, and his Leicester teammate Islam Slimani, were both dropped from the Algeria team after a failed qualification campaign.
Crystal Palace star winger Wilfried Zaha represented England at youth level and even made two friendly appearances for the senior team, but he decided to switch to Ivory Coast, where he was born, in 2016. Unfortunately, his new side didn't qualify from their African group for the World Cup in Russia.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one of the top strikers in the world, playing for German side Borussia Dortmund where he's scored more than 100 goals, but his national team of Gabon have never made a World Cup finals, and failed to qualify once again for 2018.
Gianluigi Buffon is one of the all time goalkeeping greats, making 175 appearances for Italy in a 20-year career. He did get to lift the World Cup in 2006, but he won't be there this time! It would've been his final tournament but he announced his retirement after Italy's shock defeat to Sweden in their play-off decider.
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