World Cup 2018: Top 5 midfielders who will miss the World Cup

Moscow ahead of 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
Moscow ahead of 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia

The 2018 Russia World Cup begins in under a month and most national team managers have submitted their 23-man squads. With a number of controversial and hard decisions taken by the respective bosses, selected players now get the chance to represent their country at a World Cup

A mixture of top professionals have been left out due to various reasons, whether it was inconsistency, lack of playing time or injuries. Managers have had a horrid time making these difficult decisions but its just part of the job.

A number of top midfielders have been left out of their national team squads. Here we look at the top 5 left out.


#5 Dimitri Payet

France v Albania - Group A: UEFA Euro 2016
Payet celebrates a goal for France

The 30-year-old Marseille playmaker, Dimitri Payet has not been the most influential player for his club this season, with only 7 goals in 34 appearances in all competitions. His poor form coupled with the brilliant displays by his compatriots this campaign has resulted in the Frenchman not getting picked for the World Cup squad.

Payet most recently played a big part in Marseille's Europa League final appearance and pushed for a spot in the national team. The former West Ham player has made 37 appearances for the French national team and scored 8 goals in his career.

Deschamps had picked Payet for the 2016 Euro tournament after his stellar season with West Ham that season. However, the manager has picked his squad based on the player's performances throughout the season, and Payet has not made the cut for this tournament.

All stats via transfermarkt

#4 Javier Pastore

FBL-WC-2018-ARG-VEN
Pastore in action for his country

Javier Pastore is another high profile name in the Argentina ranks who has missed out on a spot in the World Cup squad. With insufficient game time this season, Sampaoli has not picked the player purely based on his ability like some of his predecessors.

With the likes of Angel Di Maria, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Manuel Lanzini and Ever Banega, Pastore stood no chance at winning a spot, given his poor form this season.

A manager with great knowledge and expertise on the game, Sampaoli still needs to trim his squad down to 23 by the end of the month. While he will be heading into his second consecutive World Cup, Sampaoli knows the job at hand is a difficult one.

#3 Jack Wilshere

FBL-WC-2014-ENG-TRAINING
Wilshere is not part of England's squad

England and Arsenal central midfielder, Jack Wilshere has missed out on a spot to go to Russia. Down to inconsistent performances, Wilshere has been overlooked by Gareth Southgate who took a huge call by leaving out one of the most creative players in the country.

Wilshere was beaten to a spot by the likes of Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Jesse Lingard, Fabian Delph and Reuben Loftus-Cheek. While you could argue Wilshere has played consistently this season, his performances were not up to the mark for the England manager.

A great player and miss for England at Russia, the other lads will have to cope without the player who generally brings in the creativity into the setup. Having represented England before in a major competition, his experience will also be missed.

#2 Lucas Moura

Soccer, 2015, Brazil Global Tour, Brazil Men's National Team vs Costa Rica.
Moura in action for Brazil

26-year-old Brazilian winger, Lucas Moura was tipped to be one of the country's rising stars in the game at a tender age. Though things didn't pan out like everyone would have thought it would, it is reasonable to say that the player has been relatively successful in his career, with spells at Sao Paolo, PSG and now Spurs.

Despite playing for some of the biggest clubs in the world, Moura has not featured regularly for his country. He was part of former manager Scolari's 2012 Olympics squad but failed to make it to the 2014 Rio World Cup despite performing quite well at club level.

During his time at PSG, Moura did not receive adequate playing time and that affected his form and performances. A skillful and quick dribbler, the Brazilian is not easy to pick by defenders, with his dynamic movement and the runs he makes in behind the defence. The player was not even in contention for a place in the squad, given his rare appearances this season.

#1 Adam Lallana

Scotland v England - FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifier
Lallana in action for England

One of England's most fluent and creative attacking players, Adam Lallana is only on the standby list and not in the main 23-man squad for the World Cup.

After an injury-hit campaign that saw the player hardly feature for the rampant Liverpool side this season, Southgate has made a hard call by leaving the influential Lallana out.

The former Southampton captain has been part of the England set-up for the last five years and been a constant in the side's travels and qualification. The midfielder will be devastated by the decision and will be missed in the attacking third for England.

Lallana has made 34 prior appearances for England and was also named England Player of the Year in 2016.

The Englishman over the last five seasons has been one of the most consistent players at club and international level. After returning from a lengthy absence Lallana picked up a hamstring injury late in the season which dented his chances further.

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Edited by Anthony Akatugba Jr.