PORTO, Portugal — Cristiano Ronaldo is traveling to Qatar, but neither is Mohamed Salah, and neither is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose dream of becoming the first outfield player to bridge a 16-year gap between appearances at the World Cup fizzled out late, futile replacement bailout legislation for Sweden in Poland.
Every World Cup takes place where at least one leading player or major nation does not qualify, but as the European and African sections came to an end (the conflict in Ukraine means there is still a place in the UEFA zone to be awarded ), the absentees of big names begin to pile up.
Liverpool striker Salah, a potential Ballon d’Or winner this year, suffered his second heartbreak on penalties in less than two months as Egypt failed to qualify by losing to Senegal – a repeat of their defeat in the final of the African Nations Cup the same team.
2 relatives
And Ibrahimovic, who will be 41 when Qatar start 2022, may forget returning to the World Cup stage for the first time – and probably the last, but who knows with Zlatan? — since he didn’t score a goal in Germany in 2006 after his return from international football, has remained in the sand. Robert Lewandowski’s second-half penalty in Chorzow put Poland on course to a 2-0 win and qualification for Qatar, ensuring the Bayern Munich striker – considered by many to be the game’s best centre-forward – will be in football biggest party when the World Cup takes place in November and December.
Salah and Ibrahimovic will line up as World Cup absentees alongside Norway’s Erling Haaland, who scored twice in Tuesday’s 9-0 win over Armenia. Two of football’s biggest stars of the moment and a player who has been at the top of the game for over a decade, neither of them will be in Qatar. And we haven’t even mentioned Italy, who have become the first European champions since Greece (winners in 2004) not to qualify for the World Cup.
FIFA can be thankful that at least Ronaldo and his star-studded Portuguese team will be in Qatar. Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Lewandowski will all bring their fame and class to the tournament but none of them could be called the next generation or even players at their peak. All three have been superstars of modern football, but Qatar will almost certainly be their last World Cup.
The new wave could have been led by Haaland had Norway qualified, but there are still plenty of stars en route to Qatar who can ensure the limelight doesn’t automatically fall to the old guard of Ronaldo, Messi and Lewandowski .
Sadio Mane’s penalty against Egypt sealed qualification for Senegal, giving the Liverpool striker a chance to do what Salah cannot, lead his country to the World Cup and potentially help an African nation reach the semi-finals for the first time reach.
Kylian Mbappe, who confirmed his superstar status with his performance in the 2018 World Cup final for France against Croatia, will see Qatar as his opportunity to oust Ronaldo and Messi from the top spots in football’s elite rankings, while Harry Kane, Phil Foden and Raheem Sterling will also look to this World Cup as their chance to establish their global greatness.
Germany’s Kai Havertz, France’s Christopher Nkunku and Spain’s Pedri are others who could become World Cup stars in Qatar.
The beautiful game lives here. Stream top leagues, tournaments and teams.
Sign up now to stream soccer on ESPN+
FRIDAY 1 APRIL
• Union Berlin – Cologne (2:30 p.m. ET)
• Hull City vs. Huddersfield (2:45 p.m. ET)
• Beerschot vs Bruges (2:45pm ET)
But while all eyes will be on Ronaldo when Portugal play in Qatar, his performance in play-off victories over Turkey and North Macedonia underscored the quality of Fernando Santos’ squad. Portugal is no longer a side dependent solely on Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes scored twice in Porto to seal victory over North Macedonia, who had eliminated Italy in the play-off semifinals, and the World Cup will undoubtedly be a better tournament for his presence and that of Bernardo Silva. Diogo Jota and Porto winger Otavio.
Portugal can defend too and while they have plenty of flair up front, there is no lack of quality at the back where 39-year-old Pepe is still superb at organizing and defending. He and Danilo excelled against North Macedonia.
But although Portugal will be one of the leading nations in Qatar, the party would have been bigger if Italy, Salah, Haaland and Ibrahimovic had also made it to the World Cup.
In their absence, others will make the headlines and one of them could be Ronaldo. Qatar 2022 just wouldn’t have been the same without him.