Best players to never play in a World Cup
Who are the best players to never play in a World Cup Tournament? Have you ever wondered which of the best football players who never played in World Cup before? Well if you have then do not stress! We have prepared a list with the best football players who never played in a World Cup.
The FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly the most prestigious football tournament in the world. We all know Football is the most watched sport in the world, billions of people sit down to watch the FIFA World Cup Finals.
Alot of stars do not make it, not that they are not good enough, but it’s just that their team did not have the best of lucks to qualify.
We have seen many players grace the world stage to have a crack at the biggest event to be held every four years, from Ronaldo (Brazil) to Messi and Portugal‘s Cristiano Ronaldo, many footballers have had the opportunity to showcase their abilities in front of Billions of fans. Watch & Bet Football Live Here =>
Top 10 Best football players who never played in World Cup
But what about those greatest players to never play in a World Cup Tournament? Now one might think, ‘Is it because they were just not good enough to be called up?’ The answer is not at all! The players you are about to see on this are the best in the World game.
However, they never had the opportunity to grace the world stage. Some may think that it is because they didn’t perform well enough for their clubs, but as you will see in this list of best football players to never play in World Cup, this is clearly not the case.
So without further ado here is 10 of the greatest Footballers that never played in a World Cup.
10. Abedi “Pele” Ayew – Ghana National Team
Played For: Marseille, Lyon, Torino
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Long before his sons Andre and Jordan played in multiple World Cups, their father was Africa’s brightest star.
Abedi Pelé won three African Footballer of the Year awards and led Marseille to the 1993 Champions League title.
But Ghana, plagued by political instability and poor infrastructure, did not qualify for a World Cup until 2006 three years after Abedi retired.
He was the bridge between African club success and international failure, and his absence from USA ’94 is still mourned in Accra.
9. Bernd Schuster – West Germany National Team
Played For: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid
Position: Midfielder
Schuster is football’s greatest “what if” of ego. A midfield prodigy with the vision of a chess master, he was supposed to lead West Germany for a decade.
But a bitter dressing-room war with senior players Paul Breitner and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge along with a furious public feud with the German FA led him to retire from international football at just 23 years old.
West Germany won the 1990 World Cup without him. Schuster watched from a Spanish beach, having never kicked a ball in the tournament.
8. Ian Rush – Wales National Team
Played For: Liverpool, Juventus, Leeds United
Position: Striker
The deadliest finisher in English football history scored 346 goals for Liverpool but could never drag Wales across the qualifying line.
Ian Rush netted 28 times in 73 caps a remarkable ratio for a struggling side but Wales’ defense always leaked one more than he could score.
He watched from Merseyside as neighbors England partied, and later as Gareth Bale finished what Rush started. He remains the most prolific goal-scorer never to feature in a World Cup finals.
7. Eric Cantona – France National Team
Played For: Manchester United, Leeds United, Marseille
Position: Forward / Second Striker
The King never got his crown. Eric Cantona had the talent to carry France to glory in the 1990s, but his volatile genius sabotaged him.
A public falling out with French coaches and the infamous “kung-fu kick” on a Crystal Palace fan led to a nine-month ban from all football.
By the time his suspension ended, a young Zinedine Zidane had stolen his role.
France won the 1998 World Cup on home soil, but Cantona had already retired watching from a Parisian rooftop, collar up, cigarette in hand, forever the rebel without a final.
6. Alfredo Di Stefano – Argentina National Team (later Spain)
Played For: Real Madrid, River Plate, Espanyol
Position: Forward / Attacking Midfielder
The man Pele called “the most complete footballer in history” never once set foot on a World Cup pitch. Alfredo Di Stéfano’s tragedy was one of timing and geopolitics.
He was part of Argentina’s squad in 1950 and 1954 but Argentina withdrew from both tournaments. After switching allegiance to Spain, the Spanish failed to qualify in 1958.
When they finally did qualify in 1962, a 36-year-old Di Stéfano suffered a last-minute muscle tear.
The “Blond Arrow” retired without ever hearing the World Cup anthem. It remains the single greatest injustice in the tournament’s history.
5. George Best – Northern Ireland National Team
Played For: Manchester United
Position: Winger
Starting up the list is former Manchester United superstar George Best.
George Best was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team.
The Irish superstar would have taken the world by storm had he played in the World cup.
However, the year he was still an active footballer and Ireland qualified, Best was unfortunately not apart of that campaign due to his alcohol problems and he never got the chance to ever play in the tournament.
The absence of players like George Best from the FIFA World Cup will never be forgotten as they would have added a lot of excitements in the prestigious tournament if they had participated.
In 2005 it was unfortunate to hear that Best passed away before his 60th Birthday.
4. Jari Litmanen – Finland national football team
Played For: Ajax FC, Liverpool and Barcelona
Position: Midfielder/Striker
In fourth is former Ajax, Liverpool and Barcelona player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Finnish players of all time. The Finland Football Association chose him as the greatest footballer in the last 50 years
Jari Olavi Litmanen was the first-choice captain of the Finland national football team between 1996–2008 in an international career that ran from 1989 to 2010.
As Finland never qualified while he was active, Jari Litmanen did not get the chance to feature in any FIFA World Cup’s during his playing career.
3. Ryan Giggs – Wales National Team
Played For: Manchester United
Position: Midfielder
In third is Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs, a player who reached his early 40’s and was still playing football for his beloved club Manchester United.
Ryan Giggs is a Welsh football coach and former player who is currently the co-owner of Salford City.
Ryan Giggs started his career at Manchester United under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Ryan Giggs is the most decorated Welsh player, winning 13 Premier League winners medals, 4 FA Cup winners medals, 2 UEFA Champions League winners medals, 3 League Cups winners medals and other individual awards adds to his collection.
Unfortunately the World’s biggest competition has never been blessed by the legendary Ryan Giggs as he has never played in the tournament after many years of good football.
It’s so unfortunate that players like Ryan Giggs have never played in the biggest tournament on the planet.
2. Frédéric Kanouté – Mali National Squad
Played For: Lyon, Sevilla FC, Beijing Guoan
Position: Forward
Frederic Kanoute is a retired Malian footballer who played as a striker for a number of top tier clubs in Europe and the Mali national team.
He won the Africa player of the year award in 2007, becoming the first born out of Africa player to win the award.
He notably played for Sevilla FC in the Spanish La Liga where he had the greatest success in his career. Kanoute is one of the Top 10 Richest African Footballers.
Unfortunately the Kanoute never made it to the World Cup finals as his team was not just good enough to reach his heights and qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
1. George Weah – Liberia National Team
Played For: PSG, AC Milan
Position: Forward
Finally in number one on the Footballers Who Have Never Played in A World Cup is George Weah.
George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a Liberian humanitarian, politician, and an ex-footballer who played as a striker.
The Liberian is regarded as one of the greatest African footballers of all time. He also won the FIFA Player of the Year back in 1995 and the FIFA Ballon D’or.
He started his youth career in France with Paris Saint Germain and went onto to dominate the footballing world.
George started his youth career in France with Paris Saint Germain, he was one of the most promising young talent’s and attracted a number of European giants, he joined AC Milan where he played for five years and won so many trophies.
Unfortunately due to Civil war, he could not take part in the earth’s greatest event, The Liberian national team failed to qualify for the World Cup. Sad but true George Weah has never played in any FIFA World Cup tournament. Watch & Bet Football Live Here =>
Gareth Bale – Wales National Team
Played For: Tottenham Hostpur, Real Madrid, Los Angeles FC
Position: Winger
The former Real Madrid superstar Gareth Bale. was for a long time on this list since he had never played in a World Cup.
The Welsh was the world’s most expensive player following his move from Tottenham Hotspurs to Real Madrid in 2013 for a transfer fee of a whopping £85 million.
Gareth Bale established himself as one of the best wingers in the Premier League during his time at Tottenham Hotspurs before Real Madrid had to break their bank and splash out £85 million for the young Welsh man.
There is a limited number of quality players from Wales, the national team have struggled in the qualifiers.
The world’s most expensive player missed the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Gareth Bale finally led Wales to their first FIFA World Cup appearance in 64 years at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Watch & Bet Football Live Here =>
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