Stars who will miss the World Cup

Their sublime skills, character, grit and entertaining moves will be sorely missed at the 2010 World Cup. Revered as some of the best footballers in the world, their exclusions from their various countries‘ squads to the World Cup has ensured that they will spend the summer in front of television screens instead of packed stadiums in South Africa.



This is the story of football‘s biggest names who will not be part of the World Cup and their absence will undoubtedly change the overall landscape of the World Cup.

These players were left off the 30-man provisional lists recently released. The final list of players for the World Cup will be released by all the teams on June 1.

Ronaldinho (Brazil)

The biggest exclusion from the World Cup is unarguably Ronaldinho. The 30-year-old enormously talented AC Milan player was ruled out from Brazil‘s 30-man squad despite a splendid season with the Italian giants. Coach Dunga had insisted that the two-time FIFA Player of the Year was not part of his plans and ultimately the fans will miss his cheeky smiles, back heels, dribbling and above all, his showmanship.

Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina)

Cambiasso has enjoyed a strong season with Inter helping them reach the UEFA Champions League final. ‘Cuchu‘ is one of the most consistent midfielders Argentina have produced over the last decade, but his performace with Inter Milan were not enough to convince coach Diego Maradona into selecting him. Cambiasso‘s inclusion would have added more steel to Argentina‘s midfield because of his ball winning abilities and knack for goals.

He was part of Argentina‘s 2006 World Cup squad, but unfortunately, he has been left out of the national team set-up since Diego Maradona took over as coach in November 2008.

Adriano (Brazil)

Adriano‘s exclusion by coach Dunga is still a surprise to many. The Brazil coach has been critical of the Adriano because often he has missed training due to his alcohol addiction.

Rather, Dunga preferred to go with Grafite who has consistently impressed in the Bundesliga, even if the Wolfsburg striker has only won two caps with the Selecao, as Brazil‘s national team is known.

Francesco Totti (Italy)

Totti‘s exclusion had to do more with discipline rather than poor form. His scoring record and overall performances for Roma this season showed he is in top form. He spearheaded Roma‘s title challenge, scoring 25 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions. Totti, who was instrumental in Italy‘s World Cup win in 2006 has not played for the national team since then. But his decision to join Italy for the World Cup brought smiles on the faces of Italian fans who were hoping his leadership qualities will see the defending champions through in South Africa.

But that will not come to pass due to an incident during the Coppa Italia final against Inter Milan. During the game, Totti kicked Inter‘s Mario Balotelli and got sent off, costing him a place in Marcelo Lippi‘s World Cup squad.

Fernando Gago (Argentina)

Another very skilful player that will miss the World Cup is Real Madrid‘s Gago, though few are surprised at his exclusion by Maradona.

Gago lost his place in Madrid‘s first team and pondered a move to Boca Juniors to ensure he had regular playing time to prove that he should be part of the World Cup team but the deal fell through and he remained in Madrid. With the number of options Maradona has had to choose from, it was definitely going to be difficult for Gago making the team.

Alexandre Pato (Brazil)

The 20-year-old also failed to convince Dunga for a place in Brazil‘s World Cup team. The highly talented player performed below expectations in the Serie A this season, leading to his non-inclusion.

Dunga opted for Nilmar instead, a player who made the most of each opportunity he received, scoring a brilliant hat-trick against Chile in September. But Pato still has age on his side and should be at his best for the 2014 World Cup.

Karim Benzema (France)

The Real Madrid forward was left out of France‘s party to South Africa due to his unconvincing form.

Benzema joined Madrid in a £30 million move from Lyon last summer but has scored just eight goals in 26 appearances in La Liga this season.

His failure to impose himself as a regular starter at the Bernabeu has cost him his World Cup place, with Raymond Domenech instead naming Nicolas Anelka, Jimmy Briand, Djibril Cisse, Andre-Pierre Gignac, Sidney Govou and Thierry Henry as the strikers in his 30-man preliminary squad.

Benzema‘s name was also included in the sex scandal that rocked the French national team, but Domenech said the striker‘s exclusion was unconnected to the incident.

Lisandro Lopez (Argentina)

The recently voted French Player of the Year didn‘t even make Maradona‘s provisional World Cup squad, even if he found the back of the net 14 times with Lyon in the Ligue 1. ‘Licha‘ is a scoring machine, but the fact that Argentina has so many high-profile forwards was always going to count against him. He could have been a good alternative for Maradona off the bench, however, players like Diego Milito, Martin Palermo and Sergio Aguero will be provided with that opportunity instead.

Charlie Davies (United States)

Despite his efforts to return to full strength for the World Cup, Davies‘ exclusion from the United States roster is no surprise following a fatal car accident that left him severely injured.

Davies returned to Sochaux to complete his rehab in February, but USA coach Bob Bradley announced that he will not travel to South Africa

Ruud Van Nistleroy (Holland)

The former Manchester United forward had previously retired from international football after Euro 2008, but he had a change of heart and hoped to get back into the team for South Africa. The 33-year-old has been on loan to Hamburg from Real Madrid in a bid to prove his fitness as well as play first team football, but coach van Marwijk seemed unconvinced saying he was worried about the player‘s past injury woes.

Van Nistelrooy has been prolific at every club he has played for in his career and had a fairly decent time in Hamburg this season scoring seven goals in 18 games; he also has 33 goals in 64 international appearances to his name. Whether the Netherlands will miss his experience remains to be seen.

Javier Zanetti (Argentina)

Like in 2006, Zanetti will miss the World Cup once again. Maradona has overlooked the Inter Milan captain’s memorable season with his club who are on course for a rare treble. Zanetti, a leader, could have added valuable experience to Argentina‘s World Cup squad.

Patrick Vieira (France)

The Manchester City midfielder‘s exclusion by coach Raymond Domenech is even more painful considering that he will be missing out the first time the World Cup will be hosted by an African country. Despite being one of France‘s most outstanding players in recent years, Vieira was actually born in Senegal.

He was world champion in 1998, unlucky finalist in 2006 and Euro 2000 winner with Les Bleus. His name will surely be missed in South Africa.

Samir Nasri (France)

Nasri did a decent job for Arsenal last season making his exclusion a surprise to many also. He was outstanding in the absence of Cesc Fabregas and had great games in the Premier League and against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League.

It‘s even more difficult to believe that Domenech dropped Nasri while players like Yann M‘Vila, Gignac, Briand and Mathieu Valbuena made France’s 30-man list!