The players of the World Cup are almost as important as the teams. Regardless of how well your country performs in the World Cup, the players make the games exciting and make the competition what it is today. I am going to highlight some of the best players at the World Cup who will be playing in the competition for the first or last time. Whether these players play for the nation you support or not, these players are ones you should keep up with.
The best players attract fans from around the world to watch, no matter what team you support or what country you are from. They are a joy to watch and make the beautiful game exciting and full of life. Two players who will have every pair of eyes on them are Messi and Ronaldo. They are arguably the best two players of all time and the only thing holding back their legacies is that neither one of them has won a World Cup. This will also be both of their last World Cups due to their increasing age. Other players whose last World Cup it’ll be are Manuel Neuer and Sergio Ramos. Manuel Neuer revolutionized being a goalkeeper and will be representing Germany in hopes of securing his second World Cup trophy. As for Sergio Ramos, he is arguably the best defender to ever play. He is extremely versatile and shows exceptional leadership on and off the field. He will be a key part of Spain’s defense as he also looks to win his second World Cup trophy.
Unfortunately, the Qatar World Cup is missing some of the world’s biggest stars, either through injury or through their nation failing to qualify. Often smaller nations will have a superstar player who never makes it to the World Cup as he is unable to carry his nation to victory during the qualification rounds. This was the case with Erling Haaland who plays for Norway. Haaland has been a breakout star for Manchester City and his presence will certainly be missed. This is also the case for Jorginho and Chiesa who are both excellent players but won’t be playing at the World Cup. This was due to Italy failing to qualify, despite being the champions of Europe, which was a major upset. As for players that will be missing the World Cup due to injury, Calvin Phillips and Reece James are both out with injuries that require surgery. Both are key players for England and are some of the best players in the world in their respective positions. Other players unable to play because of injuries are Liverpool star, Diogo Jota, and German international, Marco Reus. Both players are really exciting to watch and bring life to the game, so they will be sorely missed.
The World Cup is always filled with ups and downs and the players involved experience the same. I am incredibly excited to watch the best players in the world play in Qatar and will simultaneously miss those who will not be there.
Works Cited
EUROSPORT. “Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.” FOOTBALL NEWS – CRISTIANO RONALDO: LIONEL MESSI RIVALRY HAS MADE ME A BETTER PLAYER, 22 Aug. 2019, www.eurosport.com/football/football-news-cristiano-ronaldo-lionel-messi-rivalry-has-made-me-a-better-player_sto7416173/story.shtml.
2 thoughts on “The Stars of the Qatar World Cup”
Great post! This was interesting to read because I don’t know many professional players, and I had no idea that there were so many that were not qualifying! I also liked the visual that you included!
mmg6448
Great blog post Joshua! I have enjoyed keeping up with your passion posts, I have never really watched or played soccer growing up, so this has been a new kind of content for me to take in. Your updates on the Quatar World Cup have been indeed interesting, as there seems to be a fusion between sports and politics! Great Job again this semester!
dkk5518