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World Cup worries
With the big kick-off now just over three months away, international managers are currently firming up their plans for the World Cup. Many coaches will already have a strong idea of which 23 players they wish to include in their squad, with only a handful of spots still up for grabs across the board.
For a variety of different reasons, there are several high-profile footballers who aren’t guaranteed a place on their respective nation’s plane. In this slideshow, we pick out 10 of them.
Juan Cuadrado (Colombia)
Out of action since December with a groin problem, Cuadrado will be closely monitored by Colombia coach Jose Pekerman. The veteran Argentinian gaffer will be praying the Juventus winger is fit in time for June 19, when his team do battle with Japan in their opening World Cup encounter.
Juve honcho Max Allegri has been cautious, however, warning: “[these things] can last three months or they can last six months. We hope not.”
Both Pekerman and Allegri will have been boosted by the news that Cuadrado made a tentative return to training in Turin this week, but it’s still too early to tell whether he’ll be match sharp for the World Cup.
Travel chances: Hopeful
Kevin Gameiro (France)
It's not often that a fully-fit striker approaching 100 goals for club and country across the past five seasons misses out on a major summer tournament. Unfortunately, however, that's exactly the situation which Atletico Madrid striker Gameiro is facing at present.
France manager Didier Deschamps has the pleasurable problem of having too many attacking options at his disposal. Among those are Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann, Alexandre Lacazette, Anthony Martial and Ousmane Dembele – and it’s a list which Gameiro, fairly or not, is at the bottom of. The fact he’s behind Griezmann and Diego Costa in the Atletico pecking order hasn’t helped his cause.
Travel chances: Should go, but won’t
Hulk (Brazil)
It’s easy to label Hulk yet another player who moved to China for the money, but his motivation wasn’t all green (no pun intended). The attacker struggled in his homeland during the early years of his career, until a four-season Japanese stint helped propel him to greater heights, so his return to the continent that shaped him into a superstar was an understandable move.
Nevertheless, Hulk’s decision to return to Asia hasn’t exactly boosted his chances of a call-up for the World Cup. Club colleague Oscar still makes the Selecao squad, but he’s five years Hulk’s junior and the latter man has younger and better players blocking his path to the team.
Travel chances: Non-existent
Mauro Icardi (Argentina)
Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli may be the luckiest man in football when it comes to his available options up top (although that isn’t quite the case at the other end of the field, as Tuesday’s 6-1 mauling by Spain demonstrated). Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Mauro Icardi have managed a combined 130 goals this term – and all five forwards are certainly worthy of a seat on the plane.
However, such a plethora of quality options makes for an almighty selection headache, and Sampaoli will surely be forced to leave at least one member of his Fab Five at home. Icardi didn’t make the most recent squad for March friendlies against Italy and Spain, making him the most likely to be culled.
Travel chances: Bleak
Aleksandr Kokorin (Russia)
Russia suffered a massive setback earlier this month when star player Kokorin was ruled out of action for up to five months. The Zenit forward tore an anterior cruciate ligament during his side’s Europa League meeting with RB Leipzig, with surgery pencilled in for the coming weeks.
Barring a remarkable recovery, the hosts will have to do without their top scorer (Kokorin has 12 goals in 48 caps for his country). His absence is another big loss to an already threadbare Russia squad, after defensive duo Viktor Vasin and Giorgi Jikia were ruled out earlier this year.
Travel chances: Very unlikely
Alvaro Morata (Spain)
Morata was Spain’s top scorer at Euro 2016 with three goals, and after netting 20 for Real Madrid the following season it looked probable that he'd be leading the line for his country again in Russia. Yet his place at the head of Julen Lopetegui’s side has been jeopardised by a difficult few months at Chelsea.
Morata has suffered a crisis in confidence after a dismal run of form since the turn of the year – he’s scored just once in that time – and his struggles at club level have forced Lopetegui’s hand. The former Juventus frontman was dropped for the recent friendlies against Germany and Argentina, and his replacements Rodrigo and Iago Aspas found the net in both matches.
Travel chances: 50/50
Marco Reus (Germany)
Borussia Dortmund’s gifted forward suffered a cruciate ligament injury in May 2017, which led to nine long months on the treatment table. The 28-year-old made his return to action in February, and after scoring three goals in five games since his comeback it appeared he might go directly back into Joachim Low’s squad.
Yet Reus is currently out of the picture, a victim of the fierce competition within the world champions’ ranks. Many of the players competing for his spot – notably Leroy Sane, Julian Brandt and Andre Schurrle – have been terrific in his absence, making Reus a luxury Germany could afford to do without.
Travel chances: Only if he maintains his good form
Renato Sanches (Portugal)
Sanches exploded onto the scene as a teenager in 2015-16, starring as Benfica won the Primeira Liga title. The midfielder received his first international call-up soon after and then won the European Championship in France, where he was named Young Player of the Tournament.
A €35m switch to Bayern Munich followed, but Sanches was loaned to Swansea in 2017 after failing to make an impression at the Allianz Arena. The 20-year-old has struggled to adapt to the Premier League and his abrupt decline means he’ll surely be spending the summer at home. After all, if Sanches can’t get into the Swansea side he’s unlikely to be selected for Portugal.
Travel chances: Needs an incredible end to the season
Gylfi Sigurdsson (Iceland)
Sigurdsson might not be a superstar in the same category as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Neymar, but his importance to his national team is just as high. The Everton man was the driving force behind his country’s improbable success at Euro 2016, when Iceland beat England and reached the last eight.
If Heimir Hallgrimsson’s charges want to repeat that feat in Russia, they may have to do it without their main man. Sigurdsson sustained a nasty knee injury earlier in March and could face eight weeks out with ligament damage. Any setbacks in his recovery could be fatal to his chances of making the cut for Iceland’s World Cup debut.
Travel chances: Looking up – Iceland would risk him
Jack Wilshere (England)
Wilshere’s potential inclusion for England this summer continues to divide opinion. There are those who think he should go – including Arsene Wenger, who believes the midfielder should be a “regular player in the England national team” when fit.
There are also plenty who think he shouldn’t: Roy Keane doesn’t seem to be the Arsenal midfielder’s biggest fan, describing him in February as “probably the most overrated player on the planet”.
Gareth Southgate included Wilshere in his squad for the recent friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy, but the 26-year-old was forced to pull out due to injury. His place on the plane now hangs in the balance.
Travel chances: Needs to stay fit and end the season strongly
