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Euro 2020, after being postponed for a year, is just a couple of months away now. Turkey vs. Italy will kick off this edition of the Euros on 11th June, and Portugal will come into the competition as defending champions. Europe is home to some of the best players and nations to have ever played the beautiful game, with Germany leading the way - 3-time European Champions and 2-time World Cup winners.
But this time around, Germany will be underdogs as Portugal, France, and the likes, come into Euro 2020 as hot favorites. We’ll witness the best talents in Europe set aside their allegiances in club football, as they join forces with their foes and, on other occasions, square off against club teammates. While the likes of Ronaldo, Mbappe, Lewandowski and Kane are set to dazzle us, we might miss out on some world-class talents, who have not featured for their national team. Today, let’s take a look at:
5 amazing footballers who are not picked for their national teams
#5 Mauro Icardi | Argentina | PSG
Kicking off our list is PSG striker Mauro Icardi, who faced exclusion from the national side in the World Cup qualifiers despite being named in the initial squad.
Icardi has been one of Europe’s elite strikers over the last few years, and has been involved in 13 goals (7 goals, 6 assists) in 19 appearances for the French champions this season. The Argentine’s stint at Inter Milan built his reputation with a mammoth return of 124 goals and 28 assists from 219 appearances for the club.
The Argentina squad is blessed with some of the biggest talents, especially in the attacking third, but it is bizarre not to have Icardi in the squad altogether.
It will be interesting to see whether Icardi can make it to Argentina’s squad for the upcoming Copa America, where they kick off their campaign against Chile on June 13th.
#4 Thomas Muller | Germany | Bayern Munich
Germany are not playing their best football at the moment, losing their last international fixture, 2-1, against an inexperienced North Macedonia side. With the team in despair, it’s hard to understand why Bayern Munich star, Thomas Muller, hasn’t found a place in the squad.
The World Cup winner has been in scintillating form this season, having been involved in 32 goals (14 goals, 18 assists) for Bayern Munich in 38 appearances. Muller has been one of Bayern’s most consistent performers under Hansi Flick and has dialed it up a notch since getting dropped from the national side.
The German has an xG (expected goals) of 6.32, with an impressive goal conversion rate of 26% - and a passing completion of 76%.
Quoting Lothar Matthäus:
“I would take Müller with me for two reasons. Quality and mentality. If he continues to play as before, there is no getting around him because of the quality.”
Considering Muller’s class and form, it would be criminal for this German side to not include someone of his pedigree in this year's Euro Cup.
#3 Trent Alexander Arnold | England | Liverpool
Liverpool’s breakthrough star of the 2017/18 season was widely regarded as the best right-back in the Premier League. However, with his defensive fragilities exposed more often this season, opinions on Trent Alexander-Arnold have rapidly changed.
This has also led to the supremely talented Englishman being dropped from the national side, and as things stand now, he will not make it to this year’s Euros. Trent was a regular starter in Gareth Southgate’s England even a year back, but has fallen down the pecking order to Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier.
Trent Alexander-Arnold can often be caught out of position, and isn’t the best when it comes to one-on-one with an opposing player. The 22-year old has won 88 duels in the Premier League this season, but has lost on 89 occasions. In addition to this, he’s won only 6 aerial battles and lost 17.
Considering all this, you still cannot look past the sheer brilliance of the young fullback. While Trent may cause gaps in the defense, he’s one of the best players in the final third and has the innate ability to pick out a teammate with a pinpoint cross. It will be a shame if we do not get to see Alexander-Arnold in Europe’s elite competition this season.
#2 Mats Hummels | Germany | Borussia Dortmund
Next up, we have Borussia Dortmund’s rock in defense - Mats Hummels. In 2019, he was one of the players to face the axe from Low’s German side, along with Muller and Boateng.
Much like Muller, it’s been a weird exclusion of a world-class defender in an inexperienced defensive lineup. In the most recent round of international fixtures, Germany have failed to recreate the class of their Euros and World Cup sides earlier in the decade.
The likes of Rudiger, Ginter, and Can, in defense, could use the guidance and leadership of a World Cup and 6-time Bundesliga winner. Hummels leads his Dortmund teammates in terms of clearances (194) and interceptions (25), and was an essential part of Dortmund’s defensive setup against Manchester City in the Champions League quarters.
Along with this, Hummels has an impressive 79% success rate in tackles won, making him one of German football’s best defenders. The German side is an extremely talented one, and the experience of Muller and Hummels might just bring the stability they need to be a strong contender in this edition of the Euros.
#1 Karim Benzema | France | Real Madrid
The Frenchman is arguably the most consistent and feared striker in world football at the moment. He seems to be enjoying life in Madrid even more now, having the responsibility of leading the line, and the forward has done a mighty good job of it.
In 34 appearances this season, Benzema has scored 24 goals, with an exceptional xG of 16.85. Even when he hasn’t managed to score, the Frenchman has caused trouble for opposition defenses with 6 assists, along with an average of 37 passes per match and a pass completion rate of 85%.
You would think a player with these numbers will find a regular starting spot in his national team, but the 33-year old hasn’t been in the squad since 2015.
France head coach Didier Deschamps essentially sacked Benzema from the national team after a sex tape and blackmail scandal involving then-teammate Mathieu Valbuena. In 2015 - the year he last featured for France, the 33-year old was accused of playing a part in blackmailing his former teammate.
However, Benzema has denied the accusations and court proceedings are due sometime this year. Whatever the court’s verdict may be, Deschamps has decided for himself, and does not seem intent on calling Karim Benzema back anytime soon.
