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The deadline has passed and the final 23-man squad lists for all the 32 teams participating in the 2018 FIFA World Cup has been announced.
It is always a difficult task for any manager to select the best 23 players, especially from huge footballing nations like Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany, and France.
Some of the prominent players who missed the 2018 World Cup squads include Aymeric Laporte, Alvaro Morata, Alexandre Lacazette, Christian Benteke, Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere, Mario Goetze, Emre Can, Joe Hart, and Adrien Rabiot.
While some of the players did not have a great 2017/18 season, others were unlucky to miss out on a place in the squad. But, the ones on this list were the extremely unlucky players who definitely deserved a place in the squad, but did not find one.
On that note, let’s take a look at the 5 most shocking exclusions from the 2018 FIFA World Cup squads.
#1 Leroy Sane
Arguably one of the best wingers in the world right now, Leroy Sane was phenomenal for Manchester City in their record-breaking Premier League season. Deployed on the left flank by Pep Guardiola, Sane played with a lot of pace and purpose.
One of the standout players of the 2017/18 PL season, Sane was left out of the Germany squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. The 22-year-old has scored 14 goals and assisted 17 more for Manchester City in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League.
Though he was in Joachim Low’s 27-man preliminary squad, he could not find a place in the final 23-man squad. Sane has made 12 appearances for Germany, but has failed to score yet and provided only one assist so far. He did not impress Low enough and could not produce the kind of football he played for Pep Guardiola.
Low said, "It was a tight race between Leroy Sane and Julian Brandt. Both have big qualities, both are good in the one-on-one duels. Julian Brandt was at the Confed Cup, had some strong games there, and put in good shifts in the training camp too. Leroy Sane is a huge talent, no doubt, and he will be back with the team in September."
#2 Mauro Icardi
Icardi, the star of the show for Inter Milan in the Seria A this season, has missed out on the Albiceleste World Cup squad. Icardi has scored 29 goals for Inter Milan in 34 appearances and played a stellar role in their top four finish in the Serie A.
The 25-year-old was exceptional throughout the season and played some sublime football. Icardi, along with Ciro Immobile, finished as Serie A top scorer for the 2017/18 season and outscored Paulo Dybala and Gonzalo Higuain.
Still, Jorge Sampaoli favoured the Juventus duo and ignored the Inter Milan skipper. Argentina left it until the last game of the qualifying campaign to book their place in the FIFA World Cup and the absence of inform Icardi could hurt them in Russia.
#3 Radja Nainggolan
The 30-year-old star from AS Roma is arguably one of the best midfielders in world football at the moment. He was instrumental in Roma’s excellent run in the UEFA Champions League and the Serie A. The Belgian has scored 6 goals and assisted 11 more in 42 appearances for Roma this season.
However, he was left out of Roberto Martinez’s provisional 28-man squad for the World Cup. The 30-year-old has made 30 appearances for Belgium and played at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 European Championships. Though Nainggolan is a great form at the moment, his manager feels otherwise. Nainggolan later announced his retirement from international football.
Martinez said, "It is a tactical reason. In the last two years, the team has worked in an offensive way, in a very specific manner. In the case of Radja, we all know he has a very important role at club level and I don't think we can give him that in the national team”.
#4 Anthony Martial
Manchester United football forward Anthony Martial was left out of the 23-man France squad for the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia. The 22-year-old struggled for game time at the Old Trafford and Didier Deschamps felt the youngster was not ready to play at the biggest stage. Martial had his moments in the 2017/18 season but struggled for consistency. Though he had some good games, he had quite a few bad ones as well.
He has made only 18 starts in Premier League this season. Martial has scored 11 goals and assisted 7 more for Manchester United this season. Deschamps preferred to have Thomas Lemar and Ousmane Dembele, instead of the Manchester United star. Also, Lyon’s Nabil Fekir and Marseille’s Florian Thauvin played brilliantly throughout the season, leaving no space for Anthony Martial in the squad.
#5 Alex Sandro
Alex Sandro, one of the most consistent fullbacks in the world, did not find a place in Tite’s 23-man Brazil FIFA World Cup squad. The 27-year-old made 39 appearances for the Italian giants and was brilliant for Juventus in the 2017/18 campaign.
He scored four goals and assisted five more, and had an impressive 2.4 tackles per game this season. Sandro is one of the accomplished left-backs in the world and has played a huge role for Juventus in their seventh Serie A title win in a row.
Tite preferred to have Atletico Madrid’s Felipe Luis as back-up for Real Madrid’s Marcelo, leaving out the Juventus star. Sandro has made 10 appearances for Brazil so far and last played for the national team in 2017.
