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Notable absentees: the Liverpool stars that won’t feature at the FIFA World Cup 2022

Lilly Edwards

As the World Cup draws ever closer, it is easy to forget that some of the world’s greatest players will be absent in this year’s edition of the tournament. Liverpool in particular has a number of stars that won’t feature at Qatar 2022 – here is a look at some of their most notable absentees.

Andrew Robertson (Scotland)

While it is true that Robertson has achieved more in a Liverpool shirt than the dark blue of his country, the 28-year-old still proudly led Scotland out at Euro 2020. A tough group saw the Scots finish bottom behind an impressive trio of England, Croatia, and Czech Republic. There will be no chance of redemption at Qatar 2022, however, as Scotland crashed to a 1-3 defeat at home to Ukraine in their play-off semi-final.

Ukraine went on to play fellow home nation, Wales, in the final, but lost 1-0 thanks to a solitary Gareth Bale strike. Wales feature in Group B alongside England, United States and Iran, and have World Cup odds from Paddy Power of 11/10 to qualify from the group. Paddy Power’s World Cup betting tips offer insight on Qatar 2022 – including information on Group B – as well as qualifications for the 2026 edition. That will undoubtedly be the next tournament that Robertson and co. have their sights on, as the Tartan Terriers won’t want to be down for long.

Mohamed Salah (Egypt)

As unbelievable as it may seem, Liverpool legend and Egypt captain Mo Salah will not feature in this year’s World Cup. In a replay of the final of the Africa Cup of Nations nearly two months earlier, Salah came up against Sadio Mane’s Senegal in the final of the CAF World Cup Qualifiers. The match went to penalties following a 1-1 aggregate scoreline.

It was to be similar heartbreak for Salah and Egypt, as Senegal were victorious thanks to another winning spot kick from captain Mane. Salah himself took first for Egypt in that shootout, having been denied the opportunity in the AFCON final. The Liverpool man missed from twelve yards in controversial fashion, as multiple lasers were shone in his face from the home supporters. At 30 years old, Salah may not have another shot at the world trophy.

Luis Díaz (Colombia)

January acquisition Luis Díaz is the last Red on this list not to play in Qatar, as his national side Colombia were well off the pace in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers. Following a 16-year hiatus from the competition, Los Cafeteros had managed to qualify for the 2014 and 2018 editions of the competition. For 2022, however, Díaz’s stellar performances were unable to drag his nation past the qualifying rounds, with Colombia finishing a dismal sixth – three points off automatic promotion.

Nevertheless, recent injury woes meant that the 25-year-old would have been unlikely to feature at the tournament anyway, having sustained a serious knee injury in his side’s 3-2 loss away to Arsenal that keeps him out until December. The player joins the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip and Arthur Melo on Liverpool’s long list of injuries.

While not featuring at the 2022 World Cup will be disappointing on an individual level, Liverpool themselves will be quietly relieved. It will give the club time to get players back from injury and allow guaranteed starters invaluable days of rest and recuperation, as the Reds will look to recover from an underwhelming start to the season.