With all the 32 countries at this summer’s World Cup having submitted their respective squads of 23 players for the FIFA World Cup tournament, Today Sports takes a look at some of the players who failed to make the cut for the world show piece in Brazil.
Here are the best starting XI of those not going to Brazil this summer for reasons other than injury – these players simply were not selected, and will likely watch at home on an awesome projector setup.
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Borussia Monchengladbach, GERMANY)
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is widely expected to announce a transfer to FC Barcelona in the near future, after an emotional final match for Borussia Monchengladbach.
The German goalkeeper has had a wonderful domestic campaign between the posts, and is unfortunate not to have the chance to extend that at international level.
Ron-Robert Zieler and Roman Weidenfeller – whose combined four caps is as many as Ter Stegen has earned in his short career to date – travel to Brazil with the Germany squad as understudies to Manuel Neuer.
Ashley Cole (Chelsea, ENGLAND)
Chelsea veteran, Ashley Cole, was left out of the England squad as Roy Hodgson looked to the youth, with Southampton full back, Luke Shaw, selected in his stead.
Cole subsequently retired from international football after a glittering 107 cap career.
Rafinha (Bayern Munich, BRAZIL)
Only three Bayern Munich players started more Bundesliga games than right back Rafinha this season – in part thanks to Philipp Lahm moving into a central midfield role – but Brazil boss, Luis Felipe Scolari, went with the international experience of Dani Alves and Maicon.
Manchester United man, Rafael, also missed out on a home World Cup, but his time may very well come.
Adil Rami (AC Milan – on loan from Valencia, FRANCE)
Adil Rami joined a somewhat leaky AC Milan defence in January, and helped right the ship.
The 28-year-old Frenchman helped the Rossoneri keep eight clean sheets in his 17 Serie A games in the second half of the season, but will be missing out on his country’s squad as manager, Didier Deschamps, is looking to younger players to step up.
Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain, BRAZIL)
Marquinhos is perhaps the most naturally gifted young defender in the game, but his sometime partnership with Thiago Silva at the back did not help him into Brazil’s World Cup squad.
Selecao boss, Luis Felipe Scolari, has gone for experience, with eight players over the age of 30 in his squad, and an average age of 28.3. Marquinhos will have to wait to make his mark on the world stage.
Radja Nainggolan (AS Roma – on loan from Cagliari, BELGIUM)
Radja Nainggolan moved to AS Roma in January to help the Giallorossi battle for the Scudetto, and although the Italian capital side was unable to wrestle the title from Juventus’ grasp, the Belgian very much succeeded on a personal level.
Nainggolan was a magnificent screen for the Roma defence, and passes the ball extremely well. He will wonder how Manchester United man, Marouane Fellaini, and Steven Defour of FC Porto, were selected ahead of him for Belgium after each had disappointing seasons.
Samir Nasri (Manchester City, FRANCE)
Samir Nasri had an excellent campaign with Manchester City, helping his team to a domestic double and the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
The French playmaker has not featured for his country since November’s 2-0 loss to Ukraine in the World Cup playoffs, with his attitude particularly questioned. Still, when on form and in the right conditions, Nasri can make a real difference.
Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool, BRAZIL)
Philippe Coutinho has just played a key role in Liverpool’s wonderful resurgence, helping the Reds stay involved in the Premier League title race until the final day of the season.
Coutinho missed out on the Brazil squad this summer, with Shakhtar Donetsk youngster, Bernard, selected instead despite an underwhelming campaign.
Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad, MEXICO)
Carlos Vela hasn’t played for Mexico since March 2011, refusing to participate in a number of tournaments with a variety of explanations – including a bad relationship with the national federation, wanting to settle in at Real Sociedad and personal reasons.
He is a big loss for the team, having scored 15 times and provided 12 assists this past season, and such form has led to rumours Arsenal may buy him back this summer.
Max Kruse (Borussia Monchengladbach, GERMANY)
No player created more shooting opportunities than Max Kruse in the German Bundesliga this season. The versatile forward scored twelve goals and provided nine assists for his team-mates, and can consider himself deeply unfortunate to not even have been named in Germany’s 30-man preliminary squad for the World Cup.
The only orthodox centre forward selected in their final 23-man list was veteran Miroslav Klose and Germany may very well play with a false nine this summer as predicted by many pundits.
Carlos Tevez (Juventus, ARGENTINA)
Carlos Tevez was last selected by Argentina in 2011, but there were persistent rumours that his country would select him for this summer’s World Cup after he excelled in his first season with Juventus.
Only Luca Toni directly contributed to more Serie A goals than the 30 year-old Argentine’s 19 strikes and seven assists.
Despite protests at his continued absence from the squad, Tevez once again misses out.
Source: Ghana / todaygh.com / YUSSIF ALHASSAN UTHMAN