The Fifa World Cup 2018 is less than a week away. Much before even a ball is kicked, squad selection matters are a hot topic of conversation. Inevitably, there are plenty of surprises.
Equation with the boss (a la Roy Keane in 2002) and disciplinary issues also play a role here. It is also down to the balance the mangers look for in their final squad: Some want to load their side with forwards, some with defenders. Certain sides historically have had the luxury of having three or four quality players for a certain position (Read: France, Germany, Brazil, and Spain).
Below is a XI made up of players who missed the flight to Russia. Players who had to unfortunately miss the tournament through injury have been left out of this list. There is also no place for the mercurial Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who had bid adieu to international football not so long ago, but had hinted at making himself available for selection for Sweden.
Goalkeeper
Joe Hart
At the start of this decade, Hart had quickly risen to one of the best in the world. He was instrumental in Manchester City becoming a force in English football.
After falling out of favour with current Sky Blues boss Pep Guardiola in 2016, Hart’s fortunes have nosedived dramatically. The 31-year-old’s slide from the top echelons started from his last major tournament – the 2016 European Championships – where his goalkeeping came under the scanner.
In the recently concluded season, he even lost his place in an erratic West Ham United side, who were tied with relegated Stoke City for most goals conceded.
Defenders
Sergi Roberto (Spain)
This one was a little puzzling. Given the strength in depth in Spain’s ranks, there are always bound to be quality players that miss out. The Barcelona full-back had steadily managed to step in the big boots of Dani Alves and has established himself as one of the mainstays in the Barça setup.
Aymeric Laporte (France)
Once again, the nimble-footed Man City defender misses out. He is yet to see a run of games with the power-packed French side. Usurping the Real Madrid-Barcelona centre-back pairing of Sam Umtiti and Rafael Varane was always going to be a tall order. But Laporte could have been a value addition to the French squad, taking into account his ball-playing abilities.
David Luiz (Brazil)
The Chelsea defender fell out of favour in the second half of the season, where he also struggled with injuries. Luiz may well leave the London giants at the end of the season, but there will be no second chance for him to exorcise the ghost of Belo Horizonte 2014. Luiz wore the captain’s armband in the (in)famous 1-7 semi-final defeat against Germany, which was arguably the lowest point in the five-time winners’ history.
Alex Sandro (Brazil)
The Juventus left-back has had a whirlwind rise over the past couple of seasons. Several top clubs (despite playing for one) are vying for the 27-year-old’s signature. Sandro could have been used by Tite as a utility player as there is little doubt that Marcelo would be starting at left-back. Maybe a clash of styles with the Real Madrid full-back cost Sandro a berth in Russia. But the fact remains that Sandro is one of the best in the business at his position.
Midfielders
Fabinho (Brazil)
The Brazilian is now Liverpool’s club record signing. He is calm on the ball and strong on the tackle. The 24-year-old can be a nuisance for opposition attackers and can act as a solid shield to the back-four. However, he was overlooked as the five-time champions already have an embarrassment of riches in his position.
Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
A World Cup winner who has earned more than 100 caps for the Spanish side, Fabregas’s exclusion came as a bit of a shock. It is clear that Julen Lopetegui is looking for tactical balance to complement fast-paced transitions in the middle of the park. This could be a result of the manner in which Spain were overrun in the middle of the park by Italy in Euro 2016. Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has also left out Fabregas on the bench on many an occasion while playing a midfield two.
Anthony Martial (France)
The Manchester United man fell out of favour with Jose Mourinho and, subsequently, France coach Didier Deschamps. The rise of Kylian Mbappe and Osmane Dembele, and Antoine Greizmann being a certain starter meant that Martial was sidelined.
Andre Schurrle (Germany)
Form precedes reputation, so the former Chelsea forward replaces Mario Gotze in the starting XI. The latter, of course, scored the winner to land Germany their fourth World Cup crown and was the favourite to play as the No 10 in this side. At Rio de Janeiro, Schurrle crossed the ball to his Borussia Dortmund teammate, who smashed the winning goal.
Leroy Sane (Germany)
Joachim Low leaving Sane out of the German side sent shockwaves around the world. The flying winger was one of the lynchpins behind City’s title win. Sane was tipped as one of the frontrunners to win the Young Player of the Tournament award. The 20-year-old finished with 14 goals and 19 assists during the season, and was unstoppable during most games.
However, it must be noted that Sane is yet to cement a place in the Die Mannschaft side. The heat is on Marco Reus and Julian Brandt to show that Joachim Low is a World Cup-winning manager for a good reason.
Striker
Karim Benzema (France)
The Frenchman has unfortunately fallen out of favour with Deschamps over off-field matters and continues to be left out of the French side. That has not stopped the forward from quietly going about his task for Real Madrid – he was one of the star performers as Los Blancos who recently pocketed a historic third straight Champions League title. Benzema, who has completed nine seasons at the Santiago Bernabeu, also scored in the final against Liverpool.
Substitutes
Sergio Rico (GK) (Spain), Mario Gotze (Germany), Mauro Icardi (Argentina), Benedikt Howedes (Germany), Kingsley Coman (France), Radja Nainggolan (Belgium), Hector Bellerin (Spain).