Big players missing but minor footballing countries present

Next years World Cup in South Africa will see some minor football countries competing with the top nations. Notable by their absence will be some major players.

Minor countries

New Zealand have confirmed their presence at next years tournament. Their top player and captain is Ryan Nelsen of Blackburn Rovers. He is the only player currently playing with a club in a major league.

They do have two players playing in the English Championship in the shape of West Brom youngster Chris Wood and striker Rory Fallon but the rest play their football at lower levels of the game. Fallon scored the winner in the play-off against Bahrain to get his country to the finals.

Do teams like New Zealand and North Korea add anything to the World Cup or are they just cannon-fodder? I think both countries will struggle due to their players not being used to big games or playing against such top opposition. New Zealand struggled at this years Confederation Cup and I expect them to struggle in the real thing.

Missing stars

The World Cup will see some top footballing countries not qualify for next years tournament and that means that some top talent will miss out. Countries such as Sweden, Croatia and Czech Republic have all missed out on qualification.

Top goalkeeper

With the Czech Republic failing to qualify Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech will miss out on a finals appearance. To many he is still the top keeper on the planet. Instead of competing for the mantle he has to watch the likes of Spain’s Iker Casillas and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon take to the field for their teams. He made a absolute howler at Euro 2008 but will have to wait to make up for his mistake at a major tournament.

Enigmatic talent

Swedish strike ace Zlatan Ibrahimovic divides footballing opinion like no other player. Some say hes a footballing sensation. Some say hes a luxury player that some teams simple can’t afford. He has however been in superb form at Barcelona since his big money summer move and his presence at the World Cup would been highly entertaining. It is a massive blow for the Barca ace and it looks like he could have made his last appearance for his country.

Croatian playmaker

Tottenham midfield playmaker Luka Modric will miss out on the big event. The Spurs playmaker has struggled with a broken leg in recent months. However he would of been fit by the time the World Cup came around and it will be a big blow that he won’t be at the finals.

Bulgarian blunders

Manchester United star Dimitar Berbatov also misses out. Although often criticised for his languid style and almost lazy approach to the game, he can also produce brilliant flashes of skills. One his day he can take on any defence. Unfortunately for Berbatov his international teammates aren’t quite the same quality as his club mates. His strike-rate at international level is also very good, proving it was his teammates wasn’t quite up it.

Romanian talents

Adrian Mutu is a superb striker, whose personal problems and demons have spoiled what could have been a fantastic career. He is currently fighting a legal case with Chelsea over his sacking but has had better luck in Italy. He plays for Italian Serie A side Fiorentina after spells with Parma, Juventus and Verona.

This summer’s World Cup could have been his last chance to impress at a major tournament but like Berbatov his teammates wasn’t of the same standard as the former Inter star. And just like Berbatov and Ibrahimovic he is capable of the sublime but can also be dreadfully frustrating.

Possible absentees

Other talented players such as Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo could also miss out on the tournament. Both their nations have play-off games in the next week. Although I have predicted that Portugal could fail to make next years tournament, I now believe that they can overcome Bosnia and Ronaldo will be in South Africa next summer. I fully expect the Russians to overcome Slovenia in their play-off as well, so Arshavin is unlikely to miss out either. All this just adds to the excitement that the World Cup brings and I can’t wait for it to kick-off next June.