The five greatest players to have never played in the World Cup

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the site.

With teams from all over the world fighting it out to make it to Brazil next year, now seems like the perfect time to look at the top five players who have never played in the World Cup. Whilst the likes of Pele and Maradona have lit the stage on fire, let us take a look at those who never had the opportunity to do the same, thanks to a multitude of reasons.

Eric Cantona

French footballer Eric Cantona

Eric Cantona is arguably one of the main reasons why Manchester United have been so successful over the past two decades. He is after all, the man who set the ball rolling, having helped United capture their first league title since 1967.

After breaking into the Les Bleus towards the late 80’s under then-head coach Henri Michel, he was dropped from the squad. He vented his frustration at the coach and was subsequently banned from international matches until Michel Platini took charge of the team, by which time France hadn’t qualified for Italia’90.

Although he was a regular and enjoyed a good spell under Michel Platini and Gerard Houllier, France once again failed to qualify for the next World Cup. But in 1995, after he infamously kungfu-kicked a Crystal Palace fan, he couldn’t play for the national team and by the time he was back, he had lost his place to a certain Zinedine Zidane and hence, missed out on the 1998 FIFA World Cup as well.