In the Earlier World Cup qualifiers in Africa, Liverpool star Salah's Egypt lost to Senegal, led by teammate Mane, on penalties and ultimately missed the final round of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Countless people have lamented Salah's exit, but this is not the first time in history that the continent's best players have been unable to participate in the World Cup. Before the Reds ace, there were already several prominent African football superstars who passed by the World Cup.
Eto'o
Cameroon won the 2000 and 2002 Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the World Cup finals four times in a row between 1990 and 2002, with firm expectations that Cameroon would enter the 2006 World Cup. However, after a nightmarish group match with Egypt and Côte d'Ivoire, the indomitable African Lions trailed in the group standings, and Pierre Worm's dismal penalty against Egypt in Yaoundé prevented Cameroon from achieving its five consecutive World Cup appearances. This means that Eto'o, who won the African Footballer of the Year award for three consecutive years from 2003 to 2005, missed the '06 World Cup, leaving the continent's best players without the opportunity to test themselves again at the highest level. The striker scored 26 goals in La Liga in 2005-06, winning La Liga and UEFA Champions League but failing to continue his journey at the World Cup.
George Weah
Liberia's great incumbent president, Weah, has never proven himself at the World Cup, a result of representing one of the weakest countries in African football. Wea did bring his homeland to the two-time Africa Cup of Nations, which in itself was an outstanding achievement, but it proved that the AC Milan legend alone could not reach the World Cup. The African Footballer of the Year of the Year in 1989, 1994 and 1995, when he missed the '90 and '94 World Cups, arguably he was the best player on the continent.
Salif Keita
As Africa's first ever footballer of the year, Keita won the award in 1970, becoming the first player ever to receive the honour. That year, he won the double title in France, helping Saint-Etienne win the league and the French Cup, and ended the season with 21 league goals, forming a perfect partnership with teammate Helf Revelli. Keita could have played the lead role at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, but Mali did not make it to the qualifiers. To this day Mali is still waiting for the great moment of their first world cup entry.
Karim Abdul Razak
Abdul Razak won the African Footballer of the Year award in 1978, a brilliant year for him at club and national teams. In 1978, he won the Africa Cup of Nations with Ghana, a West African powerhouse that defeated Uganda in the final. Unfortunately, however, he missed the '78 World Cup in Argentina, Tunisia qualified for the African team and Ghana was blocked by Guinea in the qualifying round.
Abedi Bailey
Ayo is one of the greatest players in the history of the continent and was a star player in Africa in the late 80s and early 90s. Due to Ghana's repeated failures to qualify for the World Cup, he has never participated in the World Cup. In 2002, the veteran missed out on several occasions with the West African Giants in his 16-year international career, and it was only two years later that the Black Stars made their first tournament entry. In 2002, Ghana made its first World Cup — two years after the veteran hung up his boots — and during his 16-year career with the national team, West African powerhouses repeatedly missed the World Cup. Although he never played in a World Cup, he did win the Africa Cup of Nations, Ligue 1 and the Champions League. Later this year, his sons Andrey and Jordan Ayew will be on a journey for the country in Qatar as they try to climb the mountain with Ghana.
Salah
Liverpool superstar Salah is the latest to be considered the best player on the continent, but he also missed the Qatar World Cup. The Anfield striker has enjoyed a brilliant season at club level after he has become the continent's top scorer in Premier League history and could have won an important trophy at the end of the season. At national team level, however, Salah is struggling to forget the regrets of those months, he was a core member of the Egyptian team but was beaten by Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations final, after which he missed a penalty, and Egypt again lost to the Senegalese in the World Cup qualifier play-offs.