10 Players Who Will Miss The World Cup 2018!.

Welcome back to Football Daily, where today we're counting down 10 fantastic players who will unfortunately miss out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Let us know who you will miss the most in the comments below and don't forget to subscribe for more 10s and other brilliant content. 10. Alexis Sanchez As you probably know by now, Alexis Sanchez is a pretty nifty footballer and a talisman on the international stage. His Chile team tore apart Spain in the last World Cup, have won back-to-back Copa Americas By summer 2018, Sanchez will be 29 and will effectively have one last stab to take his national team past the last 16 for the first time in 56 years. But alas, he won't get his chance, and has arsehole team-mate David Ospina to blame. In Colombia's final qualifier against Peru, the keeper attempted to save an indirect free kick from Paulo Guerrero and, as Ospina touched the ball as it went in, the goal was allowed to stand. Undoubtedly a ridiculous rule, but one that saw Peru edge Chile to the South American play-off. The Golden Retrievers will have to stay at home next summer. 9. Antonio Valencia One player who has almost certainly played in this last World Cup already is Antonio Valencia. After losing each of their final four qualifiers, Ecuador fell out of contention for Russia and their captain will be particularly miffed. The Man United veteran has returned to form in the last two years, but he's getting no younger, and will be just two months off 37 by the time the Qatar World Cup comes around. With 92 caps, he is by far the most experienced player in La Tricola's squad, and has been let down by the young team around him. Valencia may have carried his attacking abilities and thunderous pace into his 30s, but another five years is a big ask for the Ecuadorian steam train. Let's hope he can bow out with grace at the next Copa America. 8. Yano Black If goalkeeping heroics is what makes you tick, then you're going to be short-changed next summer. David De Gea and Manuel Neuer will no doubt impress as always, while Jean-Luigi Buffon still needs a play-off to secure an emotional swan song. However, one man who will definitely miss out is Atletico Madrid's shot-stopper Yano Black. Despite being in the world's elite group of keepers, Black is part of the Slovenia side who are incapable of beating Scotland in their qualifiers. And so even if they had made it to Russia, they probably wouldn't deserve to be there. It's a crying shame for a goalkeeper who, at the time of recording, has kept more clean sheets in the league for Atletico than he has let in goals. That is absolutely outrageous, especially considering he's only played 79 league games for the Rojiblancos, shutting out the opposition on 50 occasions. Russia will be missing out on some serious reflexes. 7. Virgil van Dijk Dutch centre-half Virgil van Dijk nearly became the world's most expensive defender in the last transfer window. But while he tries to escape from Southampton again next summer, he can keep himself amused by watching the World Cup. Unfortunately for Van Dijk, it took his move from Celtic to Southampton in 2015 for the national side to take notice. And he did not earn his first international cap until he was 24. And all he's experienced is failure. In 11 competitive matches for the Dutch, the defender's record is 1-5, drawn 1 and lost 5. And despite improved form for the final two qualifiers, it was not enough to see his team return to Russia. It hasn't helped that Van Dijk was coached by the inept Danny Blind for most of his time in the national set-up. And we reckon he's still reeling from being overlooked by Van Gaal in 2014. Come Qatar, he'll already be 30. 6. Marek Hamšik Slovakia talisman Marek Hamšik is probably one of Europe's most underappreciated players. And at the age of 30, will be mightily disappointed to miss out on the World Cup once again. The last time Hamšik played at a tournament, he was just 22. And capped in his side to a famous 3-2 victory over then world champions Italy. Since then, the Slovakian playmaker has become a legend at Napoli, making more appearances for the club than anyone else this century. And at the time of recording, he's just one strike away from matching Maradona's record goal tally of 115. Unfortunately for Hamšik, he is part of a Slovakia team seriously lacking in pedigree. And they lost out on the play-off bases to the likes of Northern Ireland and Greece. 5. Christian Pulisic From a veteran who may not get a chance to contest another World Cup, to a youngster who has been robbed of his first outing on the biggest stage of all, Christian Pulisic is still just 19 and he has already made 65 appearances for Borussia Dortmund and already has nine international goals. Needless to say, he looks like the most talented footballer to have ever come out of the United States. But ironically, Pulisic's ascent has coincided with the Stars and Stripes' worst qualification campaign since the 1980s. Despite being involved in 10 of the 17 goals the USA managed in the final CONCACAF group, the young star couldn't inspire his team enough as they failed to win any away games and floundered to a shock 2-1 defeat to Trinidad and Tobago. Well, at least Panama got through. 4. David Alaba Like Pulisic, Austrian maestro David Alaba is still waiting to feature in his first World Cup. But unlike the American, he will be 26 next summer and is approaching his prime. Alaba has already won six Bundesliga, four DFB Pokals and the Champions League with Bayern Munich, so it's a shame he won't be seeing him on the world stage until he's at least 30. Although judging by his national team's efforts, he may never make it, as they have now failed to qualify for the fifth time in succession. Losing to Serbia in Ireland while failing to beat Georgia isn't exactly the form of a team ready to shine at an international tournament, and Buchen manager Marcel Koller will have to inspire his team to find their form of 2014-15, where they went unbeaten on their way to Euros in France. 3. Arjen Robben Now, we've had some pretty fantastic players on this list already, but Arjen Robben is our first downright legend. He may have linked up with the likes of Van Nistelrooy, Schneider and Van Persie since making his international debut in 2003, but the man of glass is surely the finest Dutch player of the 21st century. The Netherlands winger has given the fans of the Oranje some memorable moments over the years, and a stellar record of 37 goals and 29 assists in 96 appearances, including six strikes at the World Cup. But after the international side failed to qualify for two consecutive tournaments for the first time since 1984, Robben has finally decided to step off the international stage. It's a huge anti-climax for the man who could have easily lifted the World Cup in 2010, had it not been for Iker Casillas' right foot. And he was arguably the best player of the 2014 tournament, despite his tendency to take a tumble. There isn't anyone, aside from Mexico fans perhaps, who wouldn't want to see Robben star at one last showpiece event. 2. Gareth Bale Just 15 months ago, Wales wrote a footballing fairy tale, beating a much-francied Belgian side to reach the semi-finals of the European Championships, their first international tournament in 58 years. Gareth Bale will be hoping they don't have to wait anywhere near as long for their next one. Since that glorious summer, the explosive forward has seen his fortunes fade, battling injuries which has seen him miss half of Real Madrid's historic 2016-17 campaign, and more crucially, Wales' final two World Cup qualifiers. The Dragons scrape past Georgia 1-0, before losing to their Republic of Ireland neighbours who leapfrogged them into their playoff spot, and with Bale's class, it could have been very different. The Madrid maestro will be 32 by the time Qatar comes about, but by then, who knows what state his legs will be in. 1. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang A man who has been terrorising Europe's goalkeepers for some years now, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang no doubt deserves some World Cup action, but let's not start feeling sorry for the Borussia man, who is only himself to blame. Unlike Bale, who watched on in despair as his Wales team fell to the Irish, Aubameyang actively rejected calls to represent Gabon in a crucial qualifier against the Ivory Coast in August, reportedly because it meant being out of Europe for transfer deadline day. The Panthers lost 3-0, putting to bed any hopes they had of qualifying for the tournament in Russia. Aubameyang, meanwhile, didn't get his big move out of Dortmund, and never really looked like doing so. What a bloody waste.