Combined XI of star players who won't be at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is gradually getting nearer. The biggest football festival will kick off in November in Qatar. Several countries have already booked their places for the most prestigious event in international football.

The likes of Brazil, France, Germany, and Spain, amongst others, will be hoping to get hold of the most prized football trophy in Qatar.

Sadly, some big-name players will not be at the upcoming World Cup, as their respective countries have failed to qualify for the tournament.

We will thus be going through a combined XI of star players who have been confirmed to miss the World Cup in Qatar.

#GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)

As it stands, the most high profile shot stopper who wouldn't be at the World Cup in Qatar is Italian star Donnarumma.

The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper failed to help his country secure qualification for the prestigious competition. Italy, the reigning European champions, narrowly missed out on the World cup, as they lost to North Macedonia.

Donnarumma couldn't keep out Aleksandar Trajkovski's strike deep into stopage time, which saw Italy eventually miss out on the World Cup.

#Left-Back: David Alaba (Austria)

It will be a disappointment for David Alaba and his country Austria as they won't be at FIFA's showcase event. Alaba, who is considered one of the best defenders in the world, won't have the opportunity to show his skill on the biggest stage in football.

Austria's 2-1 defeat to Wales courtesy of a spectacular brace from Alaba's Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bale saw them miss out on the competition.

#Right-Back: Leonardo Spinazzola (Italy)

Another high-profile talent who won't be on display at the prestigious FIFA World Cup is Italian defender Spinazzola.

The very versatile defender was one of the standout players in last year's Euro competition before picking up a terrible injury.

Sinazzola can operate in various positions, including as a full-back, wing-back, and also as a midfielder. He is a very good carrier of the ball in transition who has pace and possesses serious attacking threats.

However, Spinazzola wouldn't be in Qatar in November as his country Italy didn't make it to the competition after losing to North Macedonia.

#Center-Backs: Victor Lindelof & Leonardo Bonucci (Sweden & Italy)

Next up in the combined XI will be the pair of Lindelof and Bonucci who both won't be in Qatar for the big event later this year.

Sweden lost in the play-offs against Poland, as Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zielinski both scored to condemn them to a painful 2-0 defeat.

Bonucci couldn't help Italy avoid defeat against North Macedonia in the play-offs, making it back-to-back World Cups that they will be missing in.

Both Bonucci and Lindelof are regarded as among the best defenders in Europe, and it will be a shame not to have them participate in Qatar.

#Midfielders: Wilfred Ndidi, Jorginho, Martin Odegaard (Nigeria, Italy, Norway)

All three midfielders listed above sadly won't be at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar come November.

For Leicester City's player Ndidi, his country Nigeria lost out to their rivals Ghana during the play-offs in Abuja.

Although Ndidi didn't take part in the home game due to injury, his team weren't able to secure a win against Ghana as they lost out on the away goals rule.

Reigning UEFA player of the year Jorginho will also not be in Qatar, as Italy narrowly missed out.

The Chelsea vice-captain was guilty of missing some golden chances for Italy during the qualifying stages.

Jorginho missed a crucial penalty against Switzerland which could have secured an automatic ticket for Italy to the biggest event in international football.

Another player in the midfield who also won't be part of the tournament just like Ndidi and Jorginho is Odegaard. The Arsenal youngster couldn't help his country Norway secure qualification for the tournament.

Odegaard's dreams of being in Qatar were dashed by the Netherlands after a 2-0 defeat condemned Norway to third place in Group G.

#Forwards: Mohamed Salah, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Erling Haaland (Egypt, Sweden, Norway)

Lastly, to lead the attack for the combined XI will be the trio of Salah, Haaland, and Ibrahimovic.

Salah and Egypt narrowly missed out on a ticket to Qatar after losing to Senegal on penalties.

It was a repeat of the AFCON Final, with Egypt failing to beat Senagal once again as Salah missed his spot kick during the shootout.

Like Salah, Zlatan also won't be at yet another World Cup after Sweden were knocked out by Poland.

The Swedish captain hasn't been at a World Cup since 2006, and will once again be among the high-profile stars who missing from the biggest football tournament.

Lastly, in attack will be Norway striker Erling Haaland, who couldn't help his national team qualify for the tournament. The Dortmund star is considered one of the most lethal strikers in world football, but his goals couldn't help Norway qualify.

They were eliminated by the Netherlands in the group stages after suffering a painful 2-0 defeat to the group leaders.

Edited by Akshay Saraswat