2014 World Cup: Power Ranking the Top 30 Players Not Playing in Brazil
Whenever fans think of the FIFA World Cup, they see it as a competition that will display the top players in the world in football's premier competition.
Players such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar will all star in Brazil next June and July in an attempt to achieve football immortality.
However, with every World Cup, there are many great players who were on national teams which failed to earn qualification.
Next year's contest will not feature Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. After Blagult failed to defeat Portugal in a World Cup play-off, he famously quipped, as reported by the BBC: "One thing is for sure, a World Cup without me is nothing to watch so it is not worthwhile to wait for the World Cup."
Aside from Ibrahimovic, there are many talented footballers who won't be participating in Brazil.
While many of those players do not possess the cockiness portrayed by the Swedish star, here are the rankings of the top 30 players who will not participate in next summer's World Cup.
Best of the Rest
1 of 31
Considering this list will feature 30 footballers, there are several footballers who did not make the final cut for this list.
Here are some of those players.
Mohamed Aboutrika
One of the most notable Egyptian players in history, Aboutrika will never get a chance to play in a World Cup following the Pharaohs' loss to Ghana in a World Cup play-off.
The Egyptian star announced his retirement shortly after being eliminated from World Cup contention.
Aboutrika was arguably the best player in the world who did not play in either South America or Europe at the height of his playing ability.
Even with his advancing age, the striker scored six times for Egypt in qualifying.
Demba Ba
The scorer of 41 Premier League goals over the last four seasons, Ba was a part of the Senegal side which failed to advance past the Ivory Coast in their World Cup play-off.
Ba has been sparingly used by Chelsea this season. However, he was one of the top players in Newcastle United's squad between 2011 and 2013.
Samir Handanovic
The starting goalkeeper for Slovenia at the 2010 World Cup, the Inter Milan star almost helped the small European nation advance over the likes of England and the United States.
Since 2010, Slovenia have not qualified for any major international tournaments, though Handanovic did clinch his move to Inter from Udinese in 2012.
Robbie Keane
Although he is the most accomplished goalscorer in the history of the Irish national squad, Robbie Keane's chances of making a second World Cup appear to be slim to none.
The only time Keane went to a World Cup, he scored three goals, including late goals against Germany and Spain.
The striker, who has scored 62 goals for Ireland in 131 appearances, will look to continue to build the brand of Major League Soccer in the coming years with the LA Galaxy.
Goran Pandev
Macedonia has never qualified for a major international tournament.
Since Crveni Risovi came into existence as a member of FIFA in 1994, Pandev has scored more goals, 26, than any member of the national team.
A long-time player in Serie A, Pandev announced his retirement from international football shortly after the ending of the 2014 World Cup qualification campaign.
Mohamed Salah
One of the few Egyptian players who plays professionally in Europe, Mohamed Salah was unable to help Egypt break their 24-year World Cup drought during the Pharaohs' World Cup play-off with Ghana.
Salah scored six goals during qualifying, tied with Aboutrika and Ghana's Asamoah Gyan for the most in Africa during the qualification campaign.
Mirko Vucinic
The most prolific goalscorer in the history of Montenegro's national team, Mirko Vucinic will likely never get a chance to play in a World Cup following a third-place finish in qualifying.
Vucinic had the opportunity to play in the 2006 World Cup for Serbia and Montenegro, but the Juventus striker got injured weeks before the tournament, subsequently forcing him to miss the tournament.
30. Adel Taarabt
2 of 31
Nation: Morocco
Club: Fulham (on loan from Queens Park Rangers)
Adel Taarabt has been a lightning rod of criticism throughout his international career.
Twice he has been expelled from the Moroccan national team for a lengthy spell of time due to confrontations he had with the national team manager.
This past year, the QPR loanee was removed from the national setup for nine months after confronting manager Rachid Taoussi in the media for not selecting him to play in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Regardless, Taarabt has shown glimpses of his talent, being named the best player in the Championship during the 2010-11 campaign.
29. Oscar Cardozo
3 of 31
Nation: Paraguay
Club: Benfica
Oscar Cardozo scored the winning goal on penalties for Los Guaranies to reach the quarter-finals in the 2010 World Cup.
However, Paraguay will not be able to replicate what was their best run in the World Cup finals after finishing last in the CONMEBOL table during qualification.
Still, Cardozo is one of the top strikers in the world. He has scored 170 goals since joining Benfica in 2007.
He has also helped Benfica finish as runners-up in the Europa League last season, scoring seven times for the Portuguese club in the process.
28. Jonathan Pitroipa
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Nation: Burkina Faso
Club: Stade Rennais
Burkina Faso came within centimeters of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup during the second leg of their play-off against Algeria. If they were able to advance, Les Etalons would have showcased Jonathan Pitroipa as their most notable player.
Pitroipa was named the best player in the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations following a performance which allowed for Burkina Faso to reach the final.
In France, the winger has been one of the most impressive members of a Stade Rennais side which nearly qualified for the Europa League last season thanks in large part to Pitroipa's efforts.
27. Nuri Sahin
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Nation: Turkey
Club: Borussia Dortmund (on loan from Real Madrid).
No Bundesliga player has played in the German top flight at a younger age than Nuri Sahin.
Despite playing for Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Liverpool, the 25-year-old midfielder has never played in a major international tournament for Turkey.
Sahin will have at least one more opportunity to qualify for a World Cup, though he would probably like to complete a permanent move back to Dortmund before 2018.
26. Andriy Yarmolenko
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Nation: Ukraine
Club: Dynamo Kiev
Just 24 years of age, Andriy Yarmolenko has emerged as the face of Ukrainian football following the retirement of striker Andriy Shevchenko in 2012.
During qualifying, the striker scored five times for the Yellow-Blue, including a goal to give Ukraine a 2-0 win over France in the first leg of their UEFA play-off.
Ukraine seemed to be a strong enough position to earn their first trip to the World Cup since 2006 but will again miss the world championship following a 3-0 loss to the French in the second leg of the play-off.
This may be beneficial for Yarmolenko, who has been a transfer target of Liverpool's within the last year according to Sky Italia (via the Express' Ben Jefferson).
25. Gylfi Sigurdsson
7 of 31
Nation: Iceland
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Iceland has never qualified for a major international tournament in its history.
This trend nearly ended this past year when Spurs winger Gylfi Sigurdsson led the island nation to a UEFA play-off, only to lose on a 2-0 aggregate score to Croatia.
Sigurdsson has emerged as one of the more noteworthy young players to play in the Premier League over the last three seasons.
With the departure of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid this past summer, Sigurdsson will be expected to take a leading role at Spurs in an attempt to replace the Welshman.
24. Vlad Chiriches
8 of 31
Nation: Romania
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Romania have not made it to the World Cup since the 1998 World Cup. Vlad Chiriches, who recently became the captain of Tricolorii, has become a top rising defensive star for his play both for Romania and for Tottenham.
Chiriches has made 22 appearances for Romania since his first international appearance in 2011.
He also became the most expensive transfer (8.5 million Euros) in Steaua Bucharest's history following his transfer for Spurs this past August.
23. Matija Nastasic
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Nation: Serbia
Club: Manchester City
Matija Nastasic has emerged as one of the top young defenders not only in the English Premier League but also in Europe.
The defender has earned 13 caps for the Orlovi at just 20 years of age. He has also become a starting defensive back for Manchester City.
With several other notable defenders on the national team including Neven Subotic, Branislav Ivanovic and Aleksandar Kolarov alongside Nastasic, Serbia will be one of the top defensive sides in Europe during qualification for the 2018 World Cup.
22. Daniel Agger
10 of 31
Nation: Denmark
Club: Liverpool
The captain of the Danish national team, Daniel Agger will miss his first major international tournament with De Rod-Hvide since Euro 2008 next summer.
Agger, who scored more goals than any Danish player in World Cup qualifying with four, was a part of the Denmark squad that was the only nation to fail to make the UEFA play-off after finishing second in their qualification group.
Following his failure to reach the World Cup, Agger will focus on securing a starting position for Liverpool.
21. Nemanja Matic
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Nation: Serbia
Club: Benfica
After being one of the last seven players cut for the Serbian national team before the 2010 World Cup, Nemanja Matic will have to wait at least four more years to play in the tournament.
Matic was sold to Benfica from Chelsea as a part of the David Luiz transfer in 2011. Since then, the Serbian has established himself as one of the top young midfielders in the world.
For his efforts, Matic was named the Primeira Liga Player of the Year last season.
Matic returned to the Orlovi earlier this year after refusing to play under Sinisa Mihajlovic. He will have to put in significant work to help Serbia return to the World Cup.
20. Lukasz Piszczek
12 of 31
Nation: Poland
Club: Borussia Dortmund
One of the three Polish internationals who start for Borussia Dortmund, Lukasz Piszczek has emerged as one of the top right-backs in the Bundesliga since he joined the club in 2010.
Piszczek joined Dortmund on a free transfer, a move that was not considered to be an important one at the time.
Since then, the right-back has won two Bundesliga titles and was a Champions League finalist last season.
19. Papiss Cisse
13 of 31
Nation: Senegal
Club: Newcastle
Following his transfer to Newcastle in 2012, Papiss Cisse emerged to become one of the top strikers in the Premier League.
The Senegal striker scored a combined 26 goals in 60 matches for the Magpies, including a wonder goal against Chelsea which won the BBC's award for goal of the season.
Despite the good fortune Cisse had with that goal last year, he was unable to reproduce the same luck for Senegal during their World Cup play-off.
Despite scoring four goals in qualification, including one against the Ivory Coast in the aforementioned playoff, Cisse was unable to advance Les Lions de la Teranga to their first World Cup since the 2002 contest.
18. Aleksandar Kolarov
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Nation: Serbia
Club: Manchester City
A member of the Serbian national team since 2008, Aleksandar Kolarov was a part of the Serbian side who were one of the dark horses at the 2010 World Cup.
However, just as in South Africa almost four years ago, Kolarov and Serbia have been left disappointed with the Orlovi's failure to qualify for their third straight World Cup.
Kolarov was one of the best players in the Serbian squad during qualifying.
He tallied all four of his international goals during the campaign, the most of any player who played for the Orlovi during qualification.
Serbia ultimately failed to make the World Cup after a third-place finish in their group.
17. Stevan Jovetic
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Nation: Montenegro
Club: Manchester City
Montenegro have never qualified for an international tournament since they gained FIFA recognition in 2008.
In their first attempt to reach the World Cup, striker Stevan Jovetic nearly elevated Hrabri sokoli to Brazil on the strength of some of the best attacking play in UEFA qualifying.
The Manchester City player, who came to Eastlands on a £22 million transfer this past summer, so far has not made the same impact as he did with Fiorentina.
Even with a vast depth of talent in the City squad, Jovetic could be expected eventually to start for the Citizens in the coming years due to his vast experience and his playmaking abilities.
16. Aaron Ramsey
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Nation: Wales
Club: Arsenal
Wales have not qualified for a World Cup since 1958. This dubious distinction hurts several notable players, namely Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale.
In the case of Ramsey, it hurts the tournament that one of the best midfielders in the Premier League is missing the tournament.
Ramsey has scored eight goals in the Premier League this season, the most compiled by any midfielder. He has also averaged 73.4 passes per match, the third-highest of any player in the division according to WhoScored.com.
15. Neven Subotic
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Nation: Serbia
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Neven Subotic could have been a participant in next year's World Cup for the United States had it not been for a public feud with the national team's under-20 manager Thomas Rongen in 2006.
Rongen refused to call Subotic up to the under-20 national team, the major factor in his decision not to play for the Yanks.
Subotic instead chose to play for Serbia. In 2010, the defender started in one World Cup match, in which he helped to keep a clean sheet against Germany in a 1-0 group stage victory.
Since 2010, Subotic has emerged as one of the top defenders in the world. Starting for Borussia Dortmund, the Yugoslav-born defender has won two Bundesliga titles and started in last year's Champions League final.
14. Wojciech Szczesny
18 of 31
Nation: Poland
Club: Arsenal
In the only international tournament of Wojciech Szczesny's career, he was red carded in the first match of Euro 2012 against Greece.
After only playing in one match for Poland in the tournament in which Biało-czerwoni co-hosted, the Arsenal keeper has made himself one of the best young keepers on the planet.
So far this season, Szczesny is fourth in the Premier League with 39 saves and has five clean sheets.
Considering he is only 23 years old, there is a very good chance he will have a chance to play in the World Cup. Poland will need Szczesny to be one of their best players in the 2018 World Cup cycle after missing consecutive World Cups for the first time since the 1990s.
13. Martin Skrtel
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Nation: Slovakia
Club: Liverpool
The captain of Slovakia, Martin Skrtel was a key part of the Repre side which reached the round of 16 in their first World Cup as an independent nation.
This was done despite him being injured before the start of the tournament.
Aside from playing for Slovakia, Skrtel has remained one of the top defenders in the Premier League with Liverpool.
The 28-year-old is among the league leaders with 1.3 blocked shots per match, along with an average of 9.3 clearances per each league appearance according to WhoScored.com.
12. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
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Nation: Gabon
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Gabon may have never qualified for a World Cup, but they do possess one of Africa's best young talents.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who Joe Wright of Goal.com claims is faster than Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, has been a revelation for Borussia Dortmund since completing a transfer for £11 million this summer.
The striker has tallied nine goals for the German club, a year after scoring 19 goals in Ligue 1 with St. Etienne. Only Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored more goals in the French league last season.
In international play, Aubameyang scored Gabon's only goal in the 2012 Olympics. He also helped Les Pantheres advance to the quarter-finals of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with three goals in the group stages.
11. Arda Turan
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Nation: Turkey
Club: Atletico Madrid
Arda Turan became a prominent international player after he scored several key goals for Turkey during their improbable run to the semi-finals of Euro 2008.
Turkey has not qualified for a major international tournament since then. However, Turan has remained one of the key members of the national squad.
The former Galatasaray midfielder has made more than 60 appearances for Ay Yıldızlılar and is also Turkey's captain.
With Atletico Madrid, Turan helped lead the Spanish club to a Europa League title in 2012. He has also remained one of the top attacking threats for Los Colchoneros.
10. David Alaba
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Nation: Austria
Club: Bayern Munich
No-one on the Austrian national team scored more goals in World Cup qualifying than David Alaba.
The starting left-back for Bayern Munich, Alaba has emerged as one of the best young players in the Bundesliga.
Despite being a top talent, there is only a slim chance Alaba will ever appear in an international tournament during his career.
Austria has not qualified for a World Cup since 1998 and the only European Championship in which the national side played was in 2008 when Austria qualified as co-hosts with Switzerland.
9. Marek Hamsik
23 of 31
Nation: Slovakia
Club: Napoli
As the captain of Slovakia in 2010, Marek Hamsik led Slovakia to the knockout stage of the World Cup in what was the first major international tournament for the Repre.
Despite his heroics in South Africa, Hamsik and his Slovak side will watch the World Cup from home after finishing 12 points off the pace to earn a play-off spot or an automatic spot for Brazil.
8. Petr Cech
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Nation: Czech Republic
Club: Chelsea
There are few goalkeepers in the world who can compete with Petr Cech.
The starting keeper for Chelsea since 2004, Cech will miss out on his second consecutive World Cup after the Czech Republic finished third in their qualification group.
With more than 100 caps for the Czech national team, Cech will probably have another chance to reach another World Cup.
In international play, Cech has excelled. In Euro 2004, the 'keeper helped the Czechs advance into the semi-final, where they were eliminated on a silver goal. He also helped the Czechs advance to the quarter-finals in Euro 2012 over co-hosts Poland.
7. Henrikh Mkhitaryan
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Nation: Armenia
Club: Borussia Dortmund
It is rare for a 24-year-old to be the highest goalscorer in the history of a national team's program.
Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who has more goals (12) than any other Armenian player, bucks this trend. Mkhitaryan has quickly made himself into one of the top young midfielders in Europe.
After scoring 29 goals in all competitions for Shakhtar Donetsk last season, the Armenian transferred to Borussia Dortmund for 24 million euros as a replacement for Mario Goetze.
Thanks in large part to Mkhitaryan, Dortmund have scored more goals (32) than any other club in the Bundesliga.
6. Branislav Ivanovic
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Nation: Serbia
Club: Chelsea
The captain of the Serbian national team, Branislav Ivanovic and his fellow defenders conceded just 11 goals during qualification matches.
However, following four away defeats, the Orlovi will miss their first World Cup since 2002 after finishing third in their qualification group.
Ivanovic has become one of the most prominent goalscoring defenders in the world after scoring several important goals for Chelsea including winners against Napoli and Benfica in European competition over the last two seasons.
The defender also started Serbia's three matches during the 2010 World Cup.
5. Christian Eriksen
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Nation: Denmark
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
At 18 years old, Christian Eriksen was the youngest player to play in the 2010 World Cup.
Almost four years later, the former Ajax midfielder has become one of the top young players in the world. Last season, Eriksen created more goalscoring chances than any other player in any of Europe's top leagues according to the Daily Telegraph.
After completing an 11.5 million Euro transfer to Tottenham in August, the Danish midfielder has struggled to adapt to the English game, assisting on only two goals so far.
Last season, Eriksen had 19 assists in all competitions for Ajax.
Regardless of Eriksen's play, Denmark failed to reach the World Cup despite finishing second overall in their qualifying group.
Denmark were the only second-place finisher in UEFA qualifying not to claim a play-off place for one of the last four European slots in the World Cup.
4. Jakub Blaszczykowski
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Nation: Poland
Club: Borussia Dortmund
The captain of the Polish national team, Jakub Blaszczykowski had an opportunity to play in the 2006 World Cup.
However, the former Wizla Krakow midfielder injured his back before the tournament and was unable to participate.
Since then, Blaszczykowski has become one of the best players in the Bundesliga. His 12 assists last season were the second-highest total in the league, while his 14 goals scored in all competitions was key for the German club in reaching the Champions League final.
Additionally, the midfielder has taken on an expanded role for Poland. He scored four goals in qualifying for Biało-czerwoni.
Blaszczykowski played an important role for Poland in Euro 2012. Playing in his first major international tournament, the midfielder scored one of the best goals of the competition against Russia.
3. Robert Lewandowski
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Nation: Poland
Club: Borussia Dortmund
No player in the Bundesliga has scored more goals than Robert Lewandowski this season.
Lewandowski, who has been linked to Bayern Munich in transfer rumors throughout the last year, has left a mark with Dortmund since joining the club in 2010, scoring 90 goals in all competitions.
The Polish striker scored the second most goals in the Champions League last season, with 10. Only Cristiano Ronaldo (12) had more goals in Europe's premier football competition.
Additionally, Lewandowski has been one of the best players on Biało-czerwoni. In Euro 2012, he scored the first goal of the tournament against Greece.
2. Gareth Bale
30 of 31
Nation: Wales
Club: Real Madrid
Shortly after becoming the most expensive transfer signing in history (not counting inflation), Gareth Bale will not participate in the World Cup.
This was somewhat expected considering Wales have not qualified for a World Cup since 1958.
Bale also participated in just three qualifying matches for the Dragons. Wales finished fifth in their group.
Irregardless, Bale is unquestionably one of the world's best players. Even in a league where he has only played for a few months, the former Tottenham star is among the top 10 goalscorers in La Liga with seven goals in nine matches.
1. Zlatan Ibrahimovic
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Nation: Sweden
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Rarely is a player voted Man of the Match three times in a World Cup despite not playing.
Even though he was just 20 years old at the time, Zlatan Ibrahimovic justified this vote by Swedish fans during the 2002 World Cup by becoming one of the world's best players.
After dazzling fans throughout the last decade, Ibrahimovic and Sweden were put into a tough play-off draw for a final World Cup berth against Portugal.
Even though the PSG star scored twice against the Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo outdid him with a hat-trick to send Portugal to Brazil.
Failing to qualify for Brazil will probably end Ibrahimovic's chances of appearing in another World Cup.
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