The World Cup has been graced by a long and legend-laden list of some of the very best ever to play the game. Some players, however, were never lucky enough to feature on football’s ultimate stage – for all manner of reasons.
Here, we run through our starting 11 of the best players who never played at the World Cup…
Goalkeeper: Neville Southall (Wales)
Arguably the best goalkeeper on the planet during his 1980s prime, Neville Southall helped Everton to two First Division titles and was twice nominated for the Ballon d’Or. ‘Big Nev’ earned 92 caps for Wales but never got a taste of World Cup football, his nation failing to qualify at any time in his career.
Right-back: Lee Dixon (England)
Among the standout right-backs of his generation, Lee Dixon enjoyed great success with Arsenal and was named in two PFA First Division Teams of the Year. He was capped 22 times by England, but stiff competition in his position – along with the Three Lions’ failure to qualify in 1994 – meant he never appeared at the World Cup.
Centre-back: Sami Hyypia (Finland)
He’s one of the greatest Finnish footballers of all time, captaining Liverpool and his country – who he represented 105 times. Unfortunately for Sami Hyypia, Finland never reached the World Cup while he was playing (in fact, they’re still waiting to make it to one).
Centre-back: Barry Hulshoff (Netherlands)
A star of Ajax’s three-time back-to-back European Cup-winning side of the early 1970s, Barry Hulshoff was undoubtedly a very fine defender. His international career was only a short one, though, and the Netherlands didn’t qualify for the World Cup during it.
Left-back: Kakha Kaladze (Georgia)
Kakha Kaladze captained Georgia and goes down as one of the best players his country has ever produced, winning the Serie A title and two Champions League with Milan. But his career coincided with a time when the former Soviet republic were still establishing themselves on the international stage and he never got to experience a World Cup.
Central Midfield: Bernd Schuster (West Germany)
A 1980 European champion with West Germany, Bernd Schuster won the Ballon d’Or that year. The ex-Barcelona and Real Madrid man probably would have played at the World Cup, but he retired from international football aged only 24 amid disputes with his country’s football association, manager and teammates.
Central Midfield: Duncan Edwards (England)
One of eight Manchester United players whose lives were cut tragically short in the Munich air disaster of February 1958, Duncan Edwards was tipped to captain England one day, with teammate Bobby Charlton describing him as “the only player that made me feel inferior”. Just 21 when he died, Edwards’ 21 international caps came between two World Cups.
Attacking Midfield: Valentino Mazzola (Italy)
Another superstar who perished in a tragic plane crash, Valentino Mazzola was skipper of the legendary ‘Grande Torino’ side killed in the May 1949 Superga air disaster. A free-scoring number 10 considered by some to be the greatest Italian player of all time, Mazzola also captained the national team. His son Sandro would go on to win the 1968 European Championship with Italy.
Right Winger: George Best (Northern Ireland)
‘Pele good, Maradona better, George Best’ – so the old saying goes. And there is absolutely no question that the genius Best was one of the finest ever to take to the pitch. The Man Utd icon won two First Division titles and the European Cup but never graced the grandest stage of all, earning his last international cap five years before Northern Ireland’s appearance at the 1982 World Cup.
Centre-forward: Alfredo Di Stefano (Argentina/Colombia/Spain)
Widely regarded as Real Madrid’s greatest-ever player, Alfredo Di Stefano played for three countries in his time, debuting for his native Argentina in 1947 and going on to represent Colombia and Spain (regulations were much looser back then). The prolific ‘Saeta Rubia’ (‘Blond Arrow’) won the bulk of his caps for the latter and helped them reach the 1962 World Cup – only to be ruled out through injury.
Left Winger: Ryan Giggs (Wales)
An outstandingly gifted winger with the proverbial wand of a left foot, Ryan Giggs’ numerous honours with sole club Man Utd included a whopping 13 Premier League titles. And he regularly shone for Wales, collecting 64 caps between 1991 and 2007, but they never qualified for a World Cup while he was playing.
Other Greats Who Never Played at the World Cup
We’ve picked our 11, but the list of stars who never played at the World Cup doesn’t end there. Bruce Grobbelaar (Zimbabwe), Ian Rush (Wales), Eric Cantona (France), Gunnard Nordahl (Sweden), George Weah (Liberia) and Laszlo Kubala (Czechoslovakia/Hungary/Spain) are just some more notable names who didn’t grace that stage.
