With football World Cup 2018 inching closer, Sportswallah takes a look at the stars who will miss out on the football carnival which is scheduled to take place in Russia from June 14-July 15.
One of the biggest names which won’t be part of FIFA World Cup 2018 will be none other than Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The striker has retired from international football but is still showing his skills in the league football in the USA. Ibrahimovic’s absence isn’t just a disappointment for Swedish fans, but also for the tournament as a whole. And in Zlatan words, we can say: Zlatan won’t miss World Cup – World Cup will miss Zlatan.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Another legendary name that won’t be a part of the carnival will be Gianluigi Buffon. Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup and Buffon decided to hang his boots. Italy went down to Sweden in the playoffs that reduced him to tears.
Gianluigi Buffon
The current Copa America champions surprised many when they missed finished sixth in the South American group. Starting the final day in third place in the group, an amazing sequence of results saw the talented Chileans miss out. The Manchester United winger will surely be missed and fans around the world will be disappointed not to see him entertaining them on the flanks.
Alexis Sanchez
A veteran of three World Cups and surely a legend of a game, Robben hung his boots from international football shortly after scoring twice against Sweden in the final match of Netherland’s unsuccessful qualification campaign. His deadly runs will surely be missed on the pitch.
Arjen Robben
Karim Benzema should not expect to return to the international fold any time soon, French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet has said. Real Madrid striker Benzema has been out of the France set-up since October 2015 having become embroiled in a scandal.
Karim Benzema
