The World Cup is now less than two months away and the excitement is building up even more ahead of the global showpiece. The tournament will see the world’s superstars compete in Qatar and 2022 World Cup bets and odds are already being prepared for the competition by the best bookmakers.
All of the top five leagues in Europe will be well-represented at the World Cup and all eyes will be on Premier League stars who will feature in Qatar. In the same vein, some big Premier League names will also miss out on the competition and we’ll take a look at the most prominent names in that regard.
Mohamed Salah
The 2021/22 Premier League golden boot winner will be absent at the World Cup in November after Egypt fell to defeat at the hands of Senegal in the playoffs. Salah’s side lost to Senegal on penalties after both the sides for level after two legs.
It is double heartbreak for Salah as Egypt also lost the Africa Cup of Nations also on penalties to Senegal in February. Though this will come as disappointment for the player, it would be in the best interests of Liverpool, as their star man will get a much needed break.
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland needs no introduction and has already established himself as one of the best young players in world football. Sadly, he will not be playing his first World Cup in November as Norway failed to qualify for the competition.
He continues to do what he does best though as he has started his Manchester City career on a scintillating note. The 22-year-old already has 14 goals across all competitions for the Citizens and you can imagine how much more refreshed he will be after getting a month’s rest during the World Cup.
Martin Odegaard
In similar vein to Haaland, Martin Odegaard is the captain of the Norway national team and will be gutted to have missed out on a chance to lead his side at the global showpiece. Only a year older than Haaland, he is equally in top form for country and current club Arsenal, where he was recently given the captain’s armband ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Currently recovering from a knock as at the time of writing, extra rest for Odegaard should do Mikel Arteta and company much good.
Riyad Mahrez
Mahrez will be another big name to miss out on the 2022 World cup after Algeria tasted defeat at the hands of Cameroon via away goals in the World Cup playoffs. Despite scoring 26 goals for his national side and assisting 34 goals as well, Mahrez has played only one World Cup game till date, which came in 2014 against Belgium.
Pep Guardiola would not exactly mind though as rest for Mahrez would mean two of his most important attackers will get a much-welcome break in November. In a season that would be rather physically demanding, the rest will do two of City’s top names much good as the Citizens look to defend their domestic crown.
Andy Robertson
Robertson has been a key figure for Liverpool over recent seasons and has built a reputation as one of the top left-backs in world football. However, he could not inspire Scotland to secure a spot at the World Cup as they lost to Ukraine in the playoffs, meaning he also gets a break mid-season.
Arsenal left-back and Robertson’s international teammate, Kieran Tierney, is also another Scottish player that will miss out on the competition.
Jorginho
It was quite the story as defending Euros champions Italy failed to seal a spot at the World Cup after falling to defeat at the hands of North Macedonia in the European playoffs. It has equally been quite the story for Jorginho, who has seen himself mentioned in Ballon D’or claims barely a year ago but has now seen his stock drop in such a short time.
Jorginho could have helped his side qualify if he didn’t miss two penalties against Switzerland, which he admitted still haunts him till date. However, his disappointment is Chelsea’s gain as Graham Potter will have one of his top midfield names fully rested during the competition.
Kelechi Iheanacho
After making his World Cup debut in 2018, Kelechi Iheanacho will be missing from the latest edition after the Super Eagles of Nigeria failed to qualify for the global showpiece for the first time since 2006. In a fixture that was dubbed the ‘Jollof derby’, Nigeria failed to defeat Ghana in two legs, meaning their West African rivals instead secured a spot at the World Cup.
Leicester City will strongly benefit from this, as Iheanacho and Nigerian teammate Wilfred Ndidi will both get rest during the competition.
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