Every footballer in the world wants to be playing in Brazil next summer
when the World Cup returns to South America. But only a handful will be
there - all aiming to reach the final at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro
on 13 July. With many stars not taking part, BBC Sport looks at the
biggest names forced to watch from afar [1 of 12]
Zlatan
Ibrahimovic: Volleys, audacious flicks and towering headers are the norm
for the Paris St-Germain crowd-pleaser. But six assists and eight goals
in qualifying, including a brace against play-off opponents Portugal,
was not enough for Sweden. "A World Cup without me is something I won't
be following," he says [2 of 12]
Robert Lewandowski:
International defenders across the globe - and particularly those based
in the German top-flight - will be thankful the Borussia Dortmund
striker will not be in Brazil. The Poland frontman, currently the
Bundesliga's leading scorer with nine goals, could only help his nation
finish fourth in England's Group H [3 of 12]
Gareth Bale: Will
the world's most expensive player ever play for Wales in a major
tournament? Ryan Giggs, Mark Hughes and Ian Rush never managed it. The
£85m Real Madrid midfielder saw his side finish seven points shy of a
play-off spot in Group A [4 of 12]
Christian Eriksen: In 2012-13,
his final season at Ajax, the Tottenham midfielder created more
goalscoring chances than any other player across Europe's top leagues.
That includes Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
But he will not be unlocking any defences in Brazil after Denmark failed
to progress from Group B [5 of 12]
David Alaba: Austria have not
reached the World Cup finals since 1998 - but one man who might, one
day, help end the barren run is Bayern Munich's brilliant
full-back/midfielder. Not this time though. Despite Alaba scoring five
of their last 11 goals, Austria missed out on a Group C play-off place
by three points [6 of 12]
Branislav Ivanovic: Wholehearted at the
back and useful in attack, but Chelsea's multi-tasking Serbia defender
will have to watch next year's tournament from home. Although he has
helped his national team concede just six goals in eight games, they
were pipped to the Group A play-off place by local rivals Croatia [7 of
12]
Stevan Jovetic: The emergence of Montenegro since they gained
independence in 2008 has been rapid. They finished third behind England
and Ukraine in Group H, with Manchester City's forward giving the
English defence a torrid time along the way [8 of 12]
Arda Turan:
Remember Turkey at the 2002 World Cup? That epic journey to the
semi-finals seems a long time ago now. They have not qualified since and
that means Atletico Madrid's flying winger Arda, who created 26 chances
during qualifying, has been denied a chance to shine on the greatest
stage [9 of 12]
Petr Cech: Chelsea's giant Czech has only played
at one World Cup so far - 2006 - and at the age of 31 missing 2014 would
probably mean no chance of playing in a future World Cup. But don't bet
against the Champions League winner featuring in Russia 2018 [10 of 12]
Pierre-Emerick
Aubameyang: Like Borussia Dortmund team-mate Robert Lewandowski, Gabon
forward Aubameyang will not be able to reproduce his impressive
Bundesliga form at the World Cup. His nation, who played in the London
2012 Olympic Games, failed to make it to the African qualifying
play-offs [11 of 12]
Jonathan Pitroipa: Named on the BBC's
African Footballer of the Year 2013 shortlist alongside Aubameyang is
Burkina Faso star Pitroipa. But the Rennes winger, who starred as the
Burkinabe reached the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations final, is also missing -
they were eliminated by play-off opponents Algeria [12 of 12]
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