Photo: © Mikhail Zimin / Match TV
Some foreigners were ignored for completely incomprehensible reasons.
The upcoming World Cup in Qatar will take place not only without the participation of the Russian national team, but also with virtually no players from the Russian championship. Only two players from the RPL will go to the world championship – Dejan Lovren from Zenit will play for Croatia, and Mumi Ngamale from Dynamo for Cameroon. At the last World Cup 2018, by the way, 15 foreign players from our Premier League played.
However, there could have been more players from the RPL at the 2022 World Cup. Politics, murky stories and a strange choice of coaches are to blame.
Undeserved outcasts
Maciej Rybus. The defender was rejected by the Polish national team immediately after he moved from Lokomotiv to Spartak in June 2022. Moreover, they didn’t go around and around then in the Polish team, bluntly stating that they don’t understand the choice of a player against the backdrop of the political situation, and that is why they don’t want to see Rybus in their team, including at the 2022 World Cup.
Maciej played 66 matches for the Polish national team and participated with it in Euro 2012, World Cup 2018 and Euro 2020, as well as in the selection for the 2022 World Cup. An experienced defender would be useful to the Poles in the upcoming world championship.
Photo: © Denis Bushkovsky / Match TV
Claudinho and Malcom. The midfielders of Zenit are one of the main stars of the Russian championship, demonstrating the highest quality of football for the RPL. Yes, it would be very difficult for them to compete in the Brazil star team – the rivals for a place at the base would be Fabinho from Liverpool, Fred from Manchester United and Lucas Paqueta from West Ham. However, Claudinho would certainly fit the role of a substitute.
Even without taking into account the political situation in the Brazilian national team, Claudinho and Malcolm, most likely, still have an ambiguous attitude. In the fall of 2021, both players returned to Zenit from the location of the national team for the Champions League matches. Then the Brazilian Football Federation wrote to FIFA a complaint about the actions of the St. Petersburg club, and both players stopped receiving calls to the national team.
Quincy Promes. In the current season of the Russian championship, the Spartak striker without a doubt proves his high level – 17 goals and 7 assists in 20 matches in all tournaments. Such a Quincy would certainly suit the current Dutch national team, and even for the main team. Memphis Depay, polishing shop in Barcelona, who got into the final application of the Orange, is currently inferior to Promes in all respects.
Perhaps political reasons would have been overshadowed by Quincy’s game, but the striker has an outstanding conviction in the Netherlands for stabbing. This did not stop the former Orange coach Frank De Boer from calling Promes to the national team, but Louis Van Gaal, who replaced him, does not want to see the Spartak player in his squad.
Photo: © Mikhail Zimin / Match TV
Keita Balde. The Senegalese newcomer to Spartak was certainly considered by his national team as one of the main players, but less than a month after moving to the Moscow club, Keith was unexpectedly removed from football due to a strange doping history in his former club, Cagliari. Balde simply did not pass the test after the match in time.
According to many fans, if it were not for the biased policy towards Russia, a small doping defect in Italy would not have been noticed. However, on September 17, the player was “soldered” 2.5 months without football, and this disqualification will end in the midst of the 2022 World Cup – December 5.
Christian Noboa. The 37-year-old midfielder of Sochi is still one of the best players in the Russian championship. However, he has not been invited to the Ecuador national team, which made it to the 2022 World Cup, for a year and a half. Why this is happening, the player himself does not understand. Christian has no competitors in the Ecuadorian national team. Therefore, the position of Ecuador national team coach Gustavo Alfaro looks as absurd as possible.
Jimmy Marine. The Orenburg midfielder was not included in the application of the Costa Rica national team for the World Cup. And this situation looks very strange. It is unlikely that Costa Ricans are in any way concerned about the political situation, but how else to explain the failure of a player with 6 goals and 3 assists in 15 matches in Russia?