It’s very close to the start of the World Cup. It is not known how the forum itself will play out, but we will definitely not see many stars in Qatar: someone did not qualify, someone was injured, someone else was banally “hooked” by the coach.
And it’s really stressful: look at how Senegal reacted to Sadio Mane’s knee injury. On November 9, the striker could not continue the match against Werder Bremen, he was substituted in the middle of the first half, and immediately a real drama unfolded in his homeland.
Two days later, Mane still ended up in the final application of the “Lions of Teranga” (did the witchcraft of the officially involved shamans really work?) And as a result, he will go to a football festival. It is difficult to say in what form, but still “Monaco” was much more fortunate than those we will now talk about.
For the sake of interest, we will form a full-fledged team – we use the classic 4-2-3-1 scheme:
Goalkeeper – Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)
Season stats: 22 matches, 16 conceded, 9 clean sheets
Donnarumma is not only the defending champion, but overall the best player of Euro 2020. The Italian’s penalties are still in front of my eyes: the confidence shown by Gigi brought the coveted cup to Roma.
In light of all this, it hurts to realize that the Azzurri have overlooked the World Cup. Moreover, he stepped on a well-known rake: if in 2018 the team was stopped by Sweden, now an even more unexpected scenario has occurred. Spectators were hoping for a Path C final against Portugal, resigned to the fact that someone would definitely not see Qatar, and then North Macedonia stumbled, thanks to Aleksandar Trajkovski.
Left-Back – Andrew Robertson (Scotland)
Season stats: 16 games, 5 assists
We are glad that the “Scottish Army” did not face Ukraine in the playoffs. At the same time, if we evaluate purely professional qualities, Robertson’s absence is certainly a loss. The footballer has long confirmed his class, knows how to make a difference, actively attacks – in a word, a universal soldier who is prayed for in Scotland and trusted by Liverpool.
Centre-back – David Alaba (Austria)
Season stats: 21 games, 2 goals, 3 assists
The person of David Alaba needs no special introduction: the Austrian has maintained a high standard since his time at Bayern Munich. The move to Real Madrid once again underlined the importance of the central defender – after all, he put a lot of effort into winning the Example and the Champions League.
But with the national team in 2022, no luck: Austria finished fourth in Group F, only got into the playoffs thanks to the gap in League of Nations form and, as a result, was twice hit by Gareth Bale.
Centre-back – Alessandro Bastoni (Italy)
Season stats: 16 games, 3 assists
With the exception of the duel with the Welshman, Alessandro Bastoni missed the bench at the 2020 European Championship. The boy was not left without a medal, but at this moment the defender, who has become much stronger and more experienced, had to show the world how much he has grown .
Bastogne is an integral part of Inter, it is required in the eyes of Roberto Mancini: it’s a shame to waste such a talent. Well, we will have to wait at least for the 2026 World Cup.
Right-back – Rhys James (England)
Season stats: 11 games, 2 goals, 2 assists
Reece James is an important cog in the Chelsea system – interestingly, the full-back waved a three-year contract with the Londoners in September. And already at the beginning of October he “flew” – in the Champions League match with Milan he injured his knee.
Garrett Southgate was philosophizing with the offer, but did not hide his plans for James: “I had to make a tough call to Rhys. Unfortunately, he would resume at the end of the tournament. Playing on probation in the quarterfinals with no more than two months of practice is very demanding.” I can’t argue with it.
Defensive midfielder – Ngolo Kante (France)
Season stats: 2 matches
Kante has been in trouble since April: the end of last season failed, preparations for the new season were ruined and a complete absence, starting from the third round of the Premier League. The hamstring is no joke and it’s not clear exactly when the midfielder will return to the field.
Nobody even comes close to doubting Ngolo’s qualifications, so this is an irreparable loss.
Central midfielder – Nicolò Barella (Italy)
Season stats: 20 games, 6 goals, 6 assists
Nicolò Barella has been a reinforced concrete player for the Nerazzurri for many years now. His systematic progress has brought simply amazing results: in addition to statistics pleasing to the eye (154 meetings, 17 goals, 40 assists), the center haw is the architect of attacks, he is not afraid of responsibility and takes it upon himself.
It is a pity that this was not enough at the most necessary moment: the North Macedonians cleverly cut off the oxygen to Barella and other no less eminent families.
Attacking midfielder – Christopher Nkunku (France)
Season stats: 23 games, 17 goals, 4 assists
If the fate of Ngolo Kante was known in advance, then Christopher Nkunku broke down just a few days before the start of the championship. Knee sprained in training and that’s it: the director will not play where the career leap should have taken place. It is not so?
Nkunku likes personal exploits, is promoted in the press, is associated with Real Madrid – in Qatar he would have answered all questions and could have risen to superstar status. Under the current circumstances, ambitious plans will have to be put on hold.
Once again we’ll be throwing a stone at FIFA, who have decided to keep the action in winter: you’ll see, too much football and a shift in schedules will send more than one star to the infirmary.
Left Wing – Luis Diaz (Colombia)
Season stats: 12 games, 4 goals, 3 assists
Luis Diaz fell out of the Liverpool cage in October as a knee forced the winger to extend his sick leave. However, even if the “scouser” had been in perfect order, he still would not have visited Mundial – let us remember that Colombia sensationally did not guarantee a ticket, limiting itself to the sixth row in the CONMEBOL zone.
Yes, Colombia is no longer the same, it has an indistinct generation (especially compared to previous selections), but Diaz, as one of the few positive points among “coffee lovers”, is frankly a shame.
Center Forward – Erling Haaland (Norway)
Season stats: 18 games, 23 goals, 3 assists
Considering Erling’s breaking condition, the World Cup could take the Scandinavian to cosmic heights. The striker gradually fluctuated, scored a very important goal for the Netherlands, made five accurate shots in total, but retreated when this could not be done.
In the autumn of 2021, Haaland played little due to injuries of various kinds and, as a result, missed the final round of qualifying. A draw with Turkey, which the Norwegians were obliged to win (whatever one may say, a direct competitor), the loss of points with Lithuania and the defeat to Oranje were worth a registration in the world forum.
Right wing – Mohammed Salah (Egypt)
Season stats: 21 games, 14 goals, 5 assists
This is exactly the case when someone would definitely be barred from the World Cup – either Mane or Salah. Who could have imagined that Egypt and Senegal would meet in the playoffs?
Note that Mohammed is categorically unlucky when the rivals are “Lions of Terangi” – this was the case in the final of the African Cup of Nations, now the captain of the “Pharaohs” did not convert a penalty in the post-match lottery. What will you do.
It is obvious that Mundial will not have many more names than we have listed above. Well, to your attention an alternative composition:
Jan Oblak – Ben Chilwell, Fikayo Tomori, Leonardo Bonucci, Mark Cucurella – Jorginho, Alexander Zinchenko – Martin Odegaard – Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino, Riyad Mahrez.
We also do not ignore famous footballers such as David De Gea, Wesley Fofana, Mats Hummels, Sergio Ramos, Tomas Soucek, Georginio Wijnaldum, Thiago Alcantara, Hakan Calhanoglu, Alexander Isak, Timo Werner, Marco Reus, Andrei Yarmolenko, Philippe Coutinho and Jadon Sancho.
