4 players whose absence could affect their nation's performance at the Qatar 2022 World Cup
The first game of the Qatar 2022 World Cup will be played on November 20, and this year's edition will last until December 18, 2022, when the final will be played.
The 2022 edition will feature 32 nations from several continents and will be the final appearance for several top-class players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Karim Benzema.
However, several players will miss the Qatar 2022 World Cup due to injuries that they sustained during the ongoing 2022-23 campaign.
As such, this article will look at four players whose absence could affect their nation's performances at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
#4 N’Golo Kante (France)
The Frenchman is one of the players whose absence could affect France at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Kante has been on the sidelines for several months and has only made two appearances for Chelsea across all competitions this season.
Kante was pivotal in midfield, and his defensive mastery helped France win the 2018 Russia World Cup. Furthermore, no player registered more interceptions than Kante at the 2018 World Cup.
◉ No player made more interceptions at the 2018 World Cup than N'Golo Kanté
◉ No player played more accurate through balls at the 2018 World Cup than Paul Pogba
In 2022, a new midfield duo will defend France's title. https://t.co/2P077ob42h
Didier Deschamps will be without the 31-year-old, and his absence in midfield could affect France's performances.
This is based on the idea that his replacement, Aurélien Tchouaméni, has no experience in the competition and might struggle to withstand pressure, especially when the competition gets to the knockout stages.
Paul Pogba's unavailability could make his absence more obvious, and it might be difficult for France to cope without the midfield duo.
#3 Borja Iglesias (Spain)
The Spaniard is arguably one of the best-performing strikers in Europe this season, but he was not selected in Spain's World Cup squad by Luis Enrique.
Borja Iglesias has netted eight goals and registered three assists in 17 appearances this season.
Spain’s World Cup squad is here 🇪🇸 https://t.co/vBgObfSw2v
Alvaro Morata is the only natural striker in the Spanish squad, and this could come back to haunt the Spaniards because if Morata gets injured, there's no natural striker replacement in the squad.
Substituting an out-of-form forward like Yeremy Pino for an in-form striker like Iglesias might have been a much safer option.
#2 Christopher Nkunku (France)
The forward was initially selected in France's squad but had to withdraw due to an injury that he sustained during training.
Nkunku has netted 16 goals and registered one assist across all competitions for RB Leipzig this season.
Christopher Nkunku is out of the World Cup after picking up a knee injury during the French national team's training today https://t.co/mxjiYQ1Gyx
If you compare his performances to those of several French attackers like Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud, you will notice that he has performed better than them this season.
His absence adds to the enormous list of top-class players from France who will miss the competition. Hence, France will miss Nkunku's scoring consistency and intuition, which could affect their attacking prowess.
#1 Sadio Mane (Senegal)
The Senegalese is arguably one of the current best African players and is Senegal's most influential and experienced player.
Sadio Mane has netted nine goals and registered four assists in 22 appearances for Bayern Munich this season.
Mane was key for Senegal as his performances helped his nation secure the African Cup of Nations trophy in 2021.
BREAKING: Senegal confirm Sadio Mané misses the World Cup through injury 🤕 https://t.co/Xc8ujz0JjW
The 30-year-old was initially selected in Senegal's World Cup squad despite his injury but had to pull out due to his poor recovery.
His absence is a big miss for Senegal, and there's arguably no player that can perfectly replace him in the starting XI. Hence, his absence might affect his nation.