Live Bar, March 24, "Team News" took stock of the top ten stars who had not participated in the World Cup, including Giggs, Cantona, Ian Wright.
1. Di Stéfano (6 appearances for Argentina, 31 for Spain)
5 Champions League titles, 2 Ballon d'Or (1957 and 1959), and 8 La Liga titles, Di Stéfano dominated football in the 1950s and 1960s with his talent. The shooter is seen as one of the best players of all time, but he has never played a minute at a World Cup. Banned by the Argentine Football Federation for wearing a Colombian uniform, Di Stefano was banned from qualifying for the 1954 Fifa world cup.
Naturalizing Spain in 1956, Di Stéfano failed to qualify for the 1958 World Cup. Injured during preparations for the 1962 World Cup in Chile, he did not play any matches and Spain was eliminated in the group stage. After this defeat, the fourth top scorer in Real Madrid history (308 goals) decided to end his career.
2. George Weah (75 appearances for Liberia)
If he had been in European football in the 1990s, the former Paris Saint-Germain striker would never have had a chance to play in the World Cup. Despite Via's outstanding performance, his country, Liberia, is suffering from a terrible civil war. This paradoxical situation shelved his national team career.
He was the first non-European player to win a Ballon d'Or (1995) and he is a national legend. "I am the prophet of Liberia," Weah said in an interview with French football in January 1995. He opened the door to Europe for players from the African continent. His talent and his aura among the liberian people even led him to be elected president of the country in 2018. The former footballer is still in power today, the only one in the world today.
3. George Best (37 appearances for Northern Ireland)
Despite the success of George Best's career at Manchester United, he has never played in any major national team competitions. Northern Ireland received its first World Cup qualification in 1958, when he was only 12 years old.
He even called for the unification of Ireland to compete in international competitions, such as rugby, but in vain. In 1968, he scored the team's second goal in the final against Benfica, giving United the first Champions League title in history, a victory that earned him the Ballon d'Or that same year.
4. Giggs (64 appearances for Wales)
However, the Red Devils, one of the most successful players in history, played in four World Cup qualifiers (1994, 1998, 2002 and 2006). But Wales never came in fourth.
Despite his extraordinary career and frequent playing in the highest leagues, Ryan Giggs has never represented Wales in major cup competitions. He retired when Wales played for the first time in Europe in 2016. Wales' only time playing in the World Cup dates back to the 1958 World Cup in Sweden.
5. Ian Wright (33 appearances for England)
After his brilliant debut against Crystal Palace, Ian Wright exploded at Arsenal, where he was the club's top scorer (185 goals in 288 games) until he was overtaken by Henry in 2005.
Wright was 27 when he made his england debut, did not call him up at Euro 1992 and excelled in the 1994 World Cup qualifiers, but England finished third in their group. At the 1998 World Cup in France, he was injured before the match. He missed his last chance to play a major match with the Three Lions.
6. Cantona (45 appearances for France)
The career of the "king" has never been peaceful. From the beginning, he had an argument with head coach Michel until Platini gave him the opportunity to lead the French team with Papan. On 17 November 1993, France lost 2-1 to Bulgaria at the Parc des Princes, missing the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
But on 25 January 1995, after a draw with Crystal Palace, the France international kicked a legendary high kick at a Crystal Palace fan, which kept him banned for eight months, after which the French manager decided not to call him up. Cantona ended his career in 1997, ahead of the World Cup in France.
7. Abedi Bailey (73 appearances for Ghana)
He won the African Golden Globe award for three consecutive years in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Since there are only two in Africa, there are three World Cup places after that (five since the 1998 World Cup). African countries have proved difficult to participate in this prestigious event.
Despite five attempts (1982, 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998), he failed to make it to the final stages of the World Cup. Prior to that, Algeria, Morocco and even Egypt had participated in the World Cup. He retired in 1998 and Ghana's first world cup in history was in 2006.
8. Ian Rush (73 appearances for Wales)
Ian Rush was a liverpool fan favourite of the 1980s. He scored 346 goals for the Reds, the most goalscoring in the club's history. He won the English League five times (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 and 1990) and the Champions League twice (1981 and 1984).
Wales have missed all world preliminaries, although they have Rush and Mark Hughes attacking the duo. The Welsh all-time second-placer (28 goals in 73 games) did not have a chance to play in the World Cup.
9. Schuster (21 appearances for Germany)
Schuster, who has played for both Barca and Real Madrid, it is hard to imagine that his career in West Germany will be so difficult. Although his ball skills are superb, his stubborn personality has adversely affected him.
Then-head coach Juppé Dvor decided not to take him to the 1982 World Cup and The 1984 European Championship, which also led to his retirement from the national team at the age of 25.
10. Litmanin (137 appearances for Finland)
Like Van Basten and Cruyff, Litmanin is an Ajax legend. Between 1992 and 1999, he scored 129 goals in 226 games. He is considered one of the best players of his time, helping Ajax win the title by beating AC Milan (1-0) in the 1995 Champions League.
Although he made 137 appearances for the national team, scoring 32 goals, Finland has never played in a World Cup. The level of Finnish players limits the strength of the national team, and it wasn't until Euro 2020 that Finland competed in major tournaments for the first time.
(Musing)