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With teams from all over the world fighting it out to make it to Brazil next year, now seems like the perfect time to look at the top five players who have never played in the World Cup. Whilst the likes of Pele and Maradona have lit the stage on fire, let us take a look at those who never had the opportunity to do the same, thanks to a multitude of reasons.
Eric Cantona
Eric Cantona is arguably one of the main reasons why Manchester United have been so successful over the past two decades. He is after all, the man who set the ball rolling, having helped United capture their first league title since 1967.
After breaking into the Les Bleus towards the late 80’s under then-head coach Henri Michel, he was dropped from the squad. He vented his frustration at the coach and was subsequently banned from international matches until Michel Platini took charge of the team, by which time France hadn’t qualified for Italia’90.
Although he was a regular and enjoyed a good spell under Michel Platini and Gerard Houllier, France once again failed to qualify for the next World Cup. But in 1995, after he infamously kungfu-kicked a Crystal Palace fan, he couldn’t play for the national team and by the time he was back, he had lost his place to a certain Zinedine Zidane and hence, missed out on the 1998 FIFA World Cup as well.
Welsh legend Ryan Giggs
The most decorated British footballer of all-time and arguably Manchester United’s greatest ever player, and their leading appearance maker with over 900 appearances, Ryan Giggs had the misfortune of being born in Wales. Although he has won everything there is to win in club football, he has never been fortunate enough to have a bunch of players around him in the national side of his ilk, and thus he never made it to the World Cup.
But that didn’t stop him from appearing 64 times for the Welsh national team and scoring 12 goals. He called time on his international career in 2007, having never had the opportunity of showing his skills in the biggest stage of them all.
George Weah
George Weah of Liberia argues with the referee
George Weah is arguably the greatest African footballer of all time. He was one of the brightest talents in Europe throughout the early to mid 90s and has featured prominently for the likes of PSG, AC Milan and Monaco. He has won plenty of individual and team accolades at club level, including being the only African to have won the Ballon d’Or, a feat he accomplished during his tenure at AC Milan in 1995.
Much like Giggs, Weah didn’t stand a chance of playing in the World Cup as he was born in the small nation of Liberia. And whilst he put them on the map, the country is yet to reach its first World Cup.
George Best
Northern Ireland’s George Best
Another Manchester United legend who never got the opportunity to play in the World Cup was George Best. Whilst Best was a magician with the ball at his feet, he could do no such magic to drag Northern Ireland to the World Cup. Often considered one of the greatest British footballers ever, he was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Best represented Northern Ireland 37 appearances and scoring nine goals between 1964 and 1977, a period in which they never managed to qualify for the World Cup. However, right at the end of his career, when the side did qualify for the 1982 World Cup, manager Billy Bingham overlooked Best,. As a result, Best never got his shot at the World Cup.
Alfredo Di Stefano
Hungarian-born forward Laszlo Kubala (R) juggles with the ball in front of Argentinian-born teammate Alfredo Di Stefano
Arguably the player who put Real Madrid on the map with his goals, Alfredo Di Stefano was, in the eyes of many, the best player to have ever played for Madrid. Whilst he made his name at Madrid, he couldn’t do so in the international stage. Although he appeared for three different teams—Spain, Colombia and Argentina, he never managed to appear in the World Cup finals.
In the 1950 World Cup, Argentina didn’t play and by the time the next World Cup came around, he had played for both Argentina and Colombia, which made him ineligible and thus didn’t take part in the 1954 World Cup. And after acquiring Spanish citizenship, a little while later, the failure of Spain to qualify for the 1958 World Cup meant that yet again, Di Stefano couldn’t feature in the World Cup. And in 1962, when Spain finally did qualify, Di Stefano was injured and thus the greatest club player of his era was forced to call it quits, having never taken part in a World Cup through bad luck and injury.
