10 Best Players SNUBBED For World Cup 2018
These great players will have to watch the games on TV like the rest of us.
Over the last couple of weeks, the best players from the 32 countries qualified for this summer's World Cup in Russia learnt whether or not they'd been selected to join up with their nation's squad and take part in the greatest football tournament of them all.
Coaches only get to take 23 players with them to the tournament. With some countries having dozens and dozens of top quality players to choose from, it can be exceptionally difficult to make these big decisions and decide who gets on the plane and who stays home.
In talent-rich nations like Spain, Brazil, or France, plenty of highly skilled players will be forced to watch the games on TV just like the rest of us, despite having performed well for their clubs and hoping that they'd done enough to earn a place in the final squad.
Playing for your country at a World Cup is considered the highest honour in the sport. Getting the phone call to say you're not going has got to sting, especially when you know you're good enough to make an impact,. That's exactly what happened to these ten great players.
10. Alexandre Lacazette - France
Alexandre Lacazette has enough talent to walk into many national squads, but not quite enough for France, at least according to head coach Didier Deschamps. Lacazette is on the standby list for Les Bleus, as Deschamps, who is often accused of sticking to his favourites and being unwilling to make changes, decided to go with Chelsea's Olivier Giroud in the list of 23.
26-year-old Lacazette has enough time ahead of him to earn a spot at the next World Cup, but the former Lyon man will be feeling a little aggrieved to be missing out on this tournament. Domestically, he's had a much better season than Giroud, scoring twice as many goals in an impressive Premier League debut campaign.
He's had a few poor performances too, but has proven to be a hard-working striker for Arsenal with a knack for getting in good positions, as well as putting in a lot of effort to win the ball and put pressure on opposing defenders. He's played 16 times for France, scoring 3 goals in total, but will need to up his strike rate and performance levels further in order to earn a permanent place in a France squad that is loaded with attacking firepower.