- Qualifying for the World Cup is an extraordinary achievement, one so prestigious that many players would willingly trade portions of their career accolades just to experience it
- The tournament represents the pinnacle of football, a stage where legends are made and careers are defined
- YEN.com.gh takes a look at five iconic players who, despite their greatness, never had the privilege of featuring at a World Cup finals
While the Champions League brings together the world’s elite each year to chase the iconic trophy with the big ears, most players would gladly trade it for a chance to win a World Cup.
Make no mistake: it remains the most prestigious competition in football.
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Reflecting on the spectacle watched by millions, Pelé once said: “The World Cup is a very important way to measure the good players, and the great ones. It is a test of a great player.”
Such is the tournament’s standard that even some of football’s all-time greats never lifted the mythical golden trophy and for a few, the chance to appear at the finals slipped away entirely.
Yet even qualifying for this extraordinary event is an honour many would exchange part of their career accolades to experience.
With that in mind, YEN.com.gh highlights five legendary players who never had the privilege of featuring at a World Cup finals.
Abedi Pele – Ghana
Abedi Pele — and no, not the three-time World Cup winner for Brazil — would have dazzled on football’s biggest stage just like his famous namesake if given the opportunity. Unfortunately, that chance never came, earning him a well-deserved spot on this star-studded list. The Ghanaian legend earned 73 caps between 1982 and 1998, scoring 33 goals for the Black Stars.
Despite a 16-year international career, the effortlessly gifted midfielder — a three-time African Footballer of the Year — did lift the 1982 African Cup of Nations with Ghana. Yet, Pele never had the opportunity to showcase his immense talent at a World Cup before retiring in 2000, leaving one of football’s great ‘what ifs’.
Eric Cantona – France
Rarely in football history has a player’s career mirrored his personality so closely as Eric Cantona’s. A supremely talented forward and widely regarded as the best Premier League player of the 1990s, he was just as famous for his charisma, proud demeanor, and infamous antics as he was for his brilliance on the pitch.
These traits sometimes caused trouble and undoubtedly limited his opportunities with the French national team, compounded by the fact that he emerged in a transitional generation—after Michel Platini and before Zinedine Zidane. Yet Cantona’s career was uniquely his own, and it is precisely this blend of talent and character that has cemented his lasting respect and legendary status in the game.
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs never managed to qualify Wales for a World Cup finals. And this despite a more than positive personal record with the Dragons, who pulled on the famous red jersey 64 times (12 goals). But the step was too high for the British, and even a potential late-career move would not have allowed the winger to fill one of the only missing lines on his never-ending list of honours.
However, the fact that he did not take part in the global competition should not in any way overshadow all that the Cardiff-born winger has achieved. His status as the player with the most appearances in Manchester United’s history is just one example.
George Oppong Weah
ew personalities in the history of Liberia have had as great an influence as George Weah. As well as being a formidable footballer – the first African to win the Ballon d’Or in 1995 – the former AC Milan player has also established himself as one of the country’s leading political figures. He was even appointed president in 2017, and remained president for six years.
A career as extraordinary as it is atypical, a qualification for the World Cup would almost have made it seem supernatural. And that is exactly what almost happened in 2002, when his team lost out on a ticket to the World Cup by just one point to Nigeria.
Alfredo Di Stefano
Hardly anyone today can claim to have seen Alfredo Di Stefano play with their own eyes. But the stories of those who did are enough to give you an idea of the kind of player he was. And if that’s not enough, the simple fact that Pele himself called him the greatest player of all time should convince you.
The Buenos Aires native is certainly a legend. Not just for Real Madrid, of course, but of football in general. Which makes it all the more remarkable that he never played a single minute of a World Cup. And in 1962, when he came closest, an injury forced him to watch his Spanish teammates (Di Stefano had changed sporting nationality six years earlier) be ejected from the competition in the first round.
Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Yen.com.gh
