Players who Won't be at the World Cup in Qatar

The 22-year-old Haaland has had a phenomenal start in his first season at Manchester City with 17 goals in his first 11 Premier League appearances, but Norway failed to beat the Netherlands in the team's final qualifying game in Group G. Haaland, who had scored in the 1-1 draw when they met in Oslo, missed the decisive game because of an injury.

Salah, who won the Golden Boot as the Premier League's top scorer alongside Son Heung-min last season, missed a penalty against Senegal in the shootout that eliminated Egypt from the World Cup playoffs. Salah blasted his attempt over the crossbar and former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane kicked the winner for his team's 3-1 victory.

Paul Pogba was ruled out of the tournament this week because of ongoing right knee problems. The 29-year-old Pogba played a vital part in France's World Cup success four years ago, but has yet to play a game this season since his last official match in April. After returning to Juventus from Manchester United in the offseason, Pogba tore his meniscus during the Italian club's preseason tour of the United States in July.

Kante hasn't played for his club or his country since August, and Chelsea confirmed last month that the midfielder will miss the tournament while recovering from surgery on a hamstring injury. Widely regarded as one of the world's best midfielders, Kante played a key role alongside Pogba in France's run to the 2018 title

Austria didn't qualify for the World Cup after losing to Wales in the playoffs. Gareth Bale scored two goals in the 2-1 victory that ended his Real Madrid teammate's hopes of appearing at soccer's biggest tournament for the first time. The 30-year-old Alaba, who joined Madrid from Bayern Munich in 2021, captained Austria at last year's European Championship, where the team lost to eventual champion Italy in the round of 16.

Diaz's World Cup hopes were over even before he injured his knee while playing for Liverpool because Colombia finished sixth in South American qualifying. The 25-year-old Diaz, who instantly became a Liverpool favorite after his transfer from Porto in January, still hasn't played at a World Cup.

Arguably the best goalkeeper in the world won't be at the World Cup after Italy surprisingly failed to qualify for the tournament - again. Donnarumma was the player of the tournament when he helped Italy win Euro 2020, but he was unable to stop Aleksandar Trajkovski's injury-time winner for North Macedonia in the World Cup playoffs in March.

Jota said "one of my dreams collapsed" when it was confirmed he will miss the World Cup with a calf injury sustained in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City on Oct. 16. He had already missed the first month of the season because of injury. Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp said Jota faced "months" to recover.