The FIFA World Cup will start soon in Qatar. The last time 32 participants will come to the tournament, as 48 teams will get to the next one. This fact will probably help not the strongest teams to get the coveted ticket. For example, the Norwegian “mutant” Erling Haaland will try to show himself not only at the club level. Not all stellar and talented football players in history have had such a chance. For different reasons. Sports remember the brightest players who failed to play at the World Cup.
Eduard Streltsov, USSR national team
 and the rest of the team of Guus Hiddink put the Slovenes. In 2014, the football player was only 33 years old. By age, he could well qualify for a trip to Brazil. However, by that time, Arshavin was already losing the competition to young people and was more often remembered in the context of scandals.</p>
<p>David Ginola and Eric Cantona, French team<br />Both players were considered the stars of the French league. Then they shone in English clubs and were insanely popular because of their actions on and off the field. In November 1993, Ginola and Cantona could make the whole of France happy. To qualify for the World Cup, the national team had to play at least a draw with the Bulgarian team at home. Despite Emil Kostadinov's return goal, everything suited the hosts. However, in the 90th minute, Zhinola, instead of playing for a little time, made an inaccurate pass to Cantona. In the next attack, the Bulgarians scored the winning goal. The most powerful and stellar French team was left out of the World Cup.</p>
<p>The head coach of the «tricolor» Gerard Houllier said that Ginola fired a rocket at the heart of French football. Cantona also blamed his teammate for the defeat.</p>
<p>Aimé Jacquet, who led the team before Euro 1996, decided to abandon both strikers. So he wanted to keep the microclimate in the team. And by that time, the French had grown a new brilliant football player. You know him for sure… He was Zinedine Zidane.</p>
<p>Ian Rush, Mark Hughes and Ryan Giggs, Wales team</p>
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Rush won everything at club level in 80s and scored over 200 goals for Liverpool in different competitions. Giggs began his career in football a little later at Manchester United, but has achieved comparable success, becoming a legend of the club. Hughes is another Manchester United star. However, he managed to play for Barcelona, and for Bayern, and for Chelsea.Had these three been born not in Wales, but in England, a great international career could await them. They did not succeed in getting their national team to the World Championship.
In 1994, the team fought against Romania, Belgium and Czechoslovakia until the last round. However, goals from Romanians Gheorghe Hadji and Florin Raducoiu kept the Welsh out of the US.
In 1998, Wales was in the qualifying «group of death» to the Netherlands, Turkey and Belgium. Later, Giggs was left without the support of Rush and Hughes, who ended their careers. The next Welsh star, Gareth Bale, was a little more fortunate. After all, qualifying for the World Cup with 32 teams is a little easier than for a tournament with 24 participants.
Abedi Ayew (Pele), Team Ghana
George Weah , Liberia national team
The pearls of African football sparkled brightly in the championships of France and Italy, achieving incredible achievements. Aya for dribbling and understanding the game was compared to Pele himself. And they also called the king of football — only not world, but African.He won the Champions League with Marseille, was named the best player on the continent three times, but for 16 years in the Ghana national team he could not break into the World Cup. There are several reasons. In the African selection for a long time, only two trips were played. Apart from Pele, Ghana had practically no great football players.
Weah was the first African to win the Ballon d'Or in 1995. His goals for Milan are remembered decades later. But even he could not achieve at least access to the World Cup with a modest team of Liberia.
In 1993, his team was suspended against the backdrop of political events in the country. In 2002, she was only one point short of winning the group.
Jari Litmanen, Team Finland
It almost happened in the selection for the World Cup — 1998. Getting into the joints was prevented by an own goal in the 91st minute in the match with the Hungarians. There was no other chance for Litmanen.
George Best, Northern Ireland national team
, the victory in which guaranteed participation in the World Cup. Four years later, he referred to an injury and did not come to Moscow for a match with the USSR national team. It also played a direct ticket. In 1973, the striker retired and earned a long suspension in the first game of selection. In 1977, he drank so often that he simply did not call up to the national team.
<br />Without Best, the Northern Irish reached the 1982 World Cup. The national team coach even traveled to the US to watch George play in the American League. However, he was not at all impressed by what he saw. </p>
<p>Alfredo Di Stefano, national teams of Spain, Colombia and Argentina<br />The owner of the Golden Ball in 1957 and 1959 played for three different teams, but never visited the world championships. With Argentina, his home team, he won the South American Cup. But due to a strike of players and disagreements, Di Stefano was unable to play at the 1950 World Cup.</p>
<p>For the Colombians, he played only in friendly matches not recognized by FIFA. The chance to play in the best tournament for the Spaniards was also missed. </p>
<p>At first, the Spanish team failed to cope with the Scots, flying past the 1958 World Cup. Di Stefano was then hampered by injury and conflicts with the coach.</p>
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