The FIFA World Cup in Qatar 2022 is set to kick off on November 20 until the final on December 18 next year. Every four years the World Cup of Soccer unites the world in a celebration of the sport and the dreams of some of the best players in the world. National pride comes out in full force as fans are seen wearing their country's jerseys in the streets, bars have games on TV, and jobs even work half days so everyone can catch a game.
Aftera a long way to figure out who were the chosen ones, all of the 32 World Cup spots have been filled, they include World Cup champions France, Qatar as the host nation, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, and surprise entry Serbia. Spain and the Netherlands round out a very able list of teams
One thing is for sure, the best talents in the world will be on display in Qatar in November 2022, and for one month the eyes of the world will be glued to their screens cheering every goal, every save, and cherishing all the memories left by the World Cup. Here are the players to look forward to in the World Cup of Qatar, who is in and who is out.
Star players that are confirmed for the World Cup in Qatar 2022
The biggest star to have already punched a ticket to Qatar 2022 is none other than Lionel Messi. The Argentina captain already got the monkey off his back winning the Copa America with Argentina against archrivals Brazil. Messi will be 35 in Qatar, and he will look to finally lead Argentina to their third World Cup title. Fellow PSG teammate Neymar was the first to qualify from South America. Brazil under Tite is a machine, having not lost any games during World Cup qualifying in South America. Neymar has won one Confederations Cup with Brazil and will look to add the World Cup to his rather short list of titles with the five-time world champions.
In Europe the playing field is almost set with 10 teams already in from UEFA, most important of them all is defending world champions France which will feature Kylian Mbappé who was a breakout star in the 2018 World Cup. In Germany fans can look forward to seeing legendary Bayern Munich forward Thomas Müller, who has the 2014 World Cup winners medal to mark as his own. Belgium has a list of some of the most exciting soccer players in the world, but none is more revered than Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne with his crisp passing and great vision.
Often questioned Barcelona forward Memphis Depay and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk will lead the Netherlands back to the World Cup after missing out in 2018. For Spain, the 2010 champions, they have placed their hopes for a second title on Juventus forward Álvaro Morata who is deadly in front of goal, while England, a squad filled with young up and coming players will look to finally get a second title with Harry Kane leading the charge.
The second-tier stars of the World Cup will be Croatia’s Luka Modrić who at 36 still has a lot in the tank, although it will be hard for Croatia to repeat as finalist of this World Cup. One of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, Kasper Schmeichel will backstop Denmark to yet another World Cup appearance, for Switzerland star player Xherdan Shaqiri will get a chance to play in his fourth World Cup. Aleksandar Mitrović of Serbia will lead the charge for a very talented Serbian team that is back at the World Cup. Host Qatar have a major star to keep an eye on and that is Akram Afif who has 21 goals in 66 games for Qatar and delighted fans at the Gold Cup this past summer.
Uruguay has already secured its spot in Qatar 2022. These are good news for soccer fans as both Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani will play the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Suárez and Cavani are a guarantee of goals: they have 7 and 5 goals, respectively in this tournament so far.
Another bunch of stars that have assured its place in Qatar 2022, unless an injury makes their plan fail, are Tottenham's South Korean striker Heung Min Son, and RCD Mallorca's talented young japanese midfielder Takefusa Kubo.
Meanwhile, for Canada they will have plenty of talent to bring to Qatar 2022. Players of the caliber of Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies will be representing the nation at the biggest stage, while Cyle Larin and Tajon Buchanan are players to watch.
The group of stars who will play in Qatar 2022 has been joined by an ever-present at major events, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who led his national team to qualification after defeating Turkey and North Macedonia. The same is the case of Liverpool FC's talented striker Sadio Mane, and FC Bayern Robert Lewandowski who led Senegal and Poland, respectively, to the entrance door of the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
At the last minute, both Mexico and the USMNT confirmed their qualification for Qatar 2022. With that, it also becomes very possible, should injuries or other troubles occur, that the stars of both countries, Chelsea's Christian Pulisic and Napoli's Hirving Lozano will join the list of great players to watch at the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Also, Gareth Bale and Keylor Navas joined the ship in the last minute as Wales and Costa Rica overcame Ukraine and New Zealand to take the last european spot available in this coveted tournament.
Christian Eriksen
Neymar Jr
Kevin de Bruyne
Kylian Mbappé
Luka Modric
Harry Kane
Virgil Van Dijk
Lionel Messi
Heung Min Son
Luis Suarez
Alphonso Davies
Sadio Mane
Cristiano Ronaldo
Robert Lewandowski
Christian Pulisic
Hirving Lozano
Gareth Bale
Keylor Navas
Stars who are not going to the World Cup in 2022
Not all is good news as Qatar 2022 will not have one of the world’s most magnetic players and that is Erling Haaland. Norway, who only lost two games in qualifying, finished third in their group and consequently did not qualify even to the playoff round.
Also, with Italy out of the upcoming World Cup, a generation of young talented players such as Nicolo Barella, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alessandro Bastoni and PSG star Marco Verratti will miss FIFA major tournament. These ones join Russian Aleksandr Golovin, another star that is out but due to political reasons.
Chilean figures such as Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal will have to settle for watching Qatar 2022 from outside the field. This was after Brazil destroyed their hopes with a brutal defeat 4-0 at Maracana Stadium in round 17 of Conmebol Qualifiers.
Other painful departures for the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 include Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Riyad Mahrez and Mohamed Salah. The Swede lost his last chance to shine in the most prestigious tournament in world soccer, while Mahrez and Salah's immense talent was not echoed in their national teams so they will have to miss the great FIFA event.
The Inter-Confederation Playoffs for Qatar 2022 yielded the last bunch of stars that will not be able to play the next FIFA World Cup. Among them are Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko, Peruvian Christian Cueva, and New Zealander Chris Wood, whose National Teams were eliminated by Wales, Australia and Costa Rica.
Riyad Mahrez
James Rodríguez
Alexis Sanchez
Arturo Vidal
Mohamed Salah
Gianluigi Donarumma
Nicolo Barella
Marco Verratti
Erling Braut Haaland
Aleksandr Golovin
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Christian Cueva
Chris Wood
