In March, the national team awaits the 2026 World Cup play-offs. And when you see the situation of the main players, it becomes scary.

Alexander Zinchenko. He is going through the worst period of his career in England. Neither Nottingham nor Arsenal need him. Halfway through the season, Zina receives treatment or regains her old form. Forest removed the Ukrainian from their Europa League candidacy. If Zinchenko doesn’t do game training, even being called up to the national team may not mean anything. Ajax should be a good option in this context.

Artem Dovbik. There is no need for Gasperini. Roma have already announced that the attack will be strengthened in the person of Aston Villa’s Donyell Mullen and have signed 18-year-old Robinio Vaz from Marseille for the future. Most likely, Dovbik could not withstand the loads of the head coach of the Romans, as he began to get injured too often. “Wolves” want to sell Artem, want to leave. As in the case of Zinchenko, Dovbik also needs a club where he can play regularly in the first team and remember to score goals together. True, unlike Alexander, Artem is now still capable of playing in the best club and in the best championship, if the team’s game model suits him. However, Artem has already had surgery in Finland. And – one way or another – Dovbik will be out of action for several months.

Alexey Gutsulyak. The best player of the “goal + pass” system in the national team in 2025 was sent to the U-19 team by Polesye because he did not sign a new contract under the club conditions. The winger was also initially excluded from the training camp, but the club president later changed his decision. If there is no one willing to buy Alexei before the end of the transfer window, he will remain in limbo until the end of the season.

Efim Hemp. I would like to believe that Gutsulyak’s fate will not befall the right. Efim has refused to renew his contract with Shakhtar, which could affect his number of minutes on the field. After all, Arda Turan now has the option of playing more in the Cannabis position with Vinicius Tobias, Pedro Enrique or someone with a Ukrainian passport.

Georgy Sudakov. Mourinho’s arrival did not promise anything good for the midfielder. Jose has long exhausted himself as a coach capable of leading a team to the title, so it is no surprise that Benfica finished 3rd in the championship. But this is not the only problem. Sudakov is at his best in the middle of the field or as an attacking midfielder. What did the Special One do? Exactly what Rebrov was criticized for was that he moved Georgiy to the winger position, which did not allow him to show his best qualities.

Ilya Zabarny. He was the main player at Bournemouth who had no centre-back alternative. At PSG, the Marquinhos-Pacho combination looks unshakable. Zabarny is third choice and given the team’s exit from the French Cup, Ilya is unlikely to get any more match training in the coming months. Especially if the Parisians go directly to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League. As the last match against Lille showed (3:0) Luis Enrique can use a formation consisting of three defenders (Marquinhos, Pacho, Zabarny) if the team needs to switch to a more attacking style. We must also hope that the recent criticism of the Ukrainian footballer from PSG fans after the defeat (0:1) in the capital cup derby will not affect Ilya in any way.

Vladimir Brazhko. He lost his game plan after a transfer to Wolverhampton fell through. It seems that Brazhko is a reflection of the entire Dynamo, which did not even reach the play-offs of the Conference League, and this can definitely be considered a shame. Vladimir, who was the top choice for the defensive midfield position just a year and a half ago, now looks like he won’t be able to beat Ivan Kalyuzhny’s rival. Here you can add other Dynamo players (Shaparenko, Mikhavko, Voloshin, Karavaev, Timchik, Pikhalyonok), whose form now raises many questions.

Roman Yaremchuk. He has played just 5 times for Olympiacos this season, making 10 appearances as a substitute. Only 4 goals, but all in the Greek Cup. Not a single goal was scored in the Super League and Champions League. There are no prerequisites yet that anything will change for the striker in the near future.

Andrey Lunin. In the autumn, the goalkeeper did not want to come to the national team and watch the matches from the bench, but now the question arises: “Is it worth calling him?” 3 matches per season, 2 of them in the Copa del Rey, where Real was eliminated. Lunin is sorely lacking in consistent game practice. He’s certainly not better than Trubin, and perhaps even picking Riznyk second would be more justified.

Alexander Svatok. Austin finished its MLS season in the fall. The new campaign only starts at the end of February. Whether this will prevent the defender from achieving ideal fitness and getting into the right rhythm of the game is an open question.

Mikhail Mudrik. As long as the sun shines and the water flows, there is hope. The chorus of a famous Ukrainian song performed by the band Mad Heads perfectly describes the winger’s situation. If Mikhail returns to football this winter, a real miracle will happen; He will be conditionally loaned to Strasbourg, where he will gain favorable playing conditions within 2 months. It would be nice if he was the national team leader, but we should definitely not hope for his return.

So what, or rather whom, should we hope for? There are very few such players, but they exist. Now all the hope is that Trubin, Zubkov, Malinovsky, Tsygankov, Vanat, Yarmolyuk and possibly Batagov will not lose their current form and get damaged in the next two months. This picture is definitely not reassuring, on the contrary it points to the potential to buy validol in bulk. Especially if we remember that Sergei Rebrov has not yet assured anyone that he can lead the country’s main team to the World Cup.

Igor YAVKIN

This summer, the 23rd FIFA World Cup finals will take place in the USA, Canada and Mexico. All professional football players, without exception, dream of playing in this tournament, from stars such as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo to players whose names are not well known to the public (perhaps only for now).

However, some star and very famous football players are at risk of missing the next World Cup. The reason for this is health problems…

Joshko Guardiol

Age: 23 years old
Citizenship: Croatia
Club: Manchester City

Joschko Guardiol, the key defender of Manchester City, who has been playing for the “citizens” since the summer of 2023, suffered a serious injury recently – in the match against Chelsea in early January 2026, which ended with a score of 1: 1. As a result of the medical examination, a fracture was detected in the fibula bone of Guardiola’s right leg. Manchester City doctors immediately announced to the technical staff and club management that they could no longer trust the Croatian player at the end of this season. Yoshko’s estimated recovery time is approximately four months. However, this is the most favorable prognosis as recovery may take five or six months.

Theoretically, if Guardiol returns from hospital towards the end of May, he will have the chance to be included in the Croatian national team at the 2026 World Cup. Of course, the centre-back will have to go abroad without training and far from the best conditions, but… Without Josko, the Croatian national team will definitely lose a lot, because by the age of 23 Guardiola had already made 46 appearances and scored 4 goals for the “checkers”.

Takumi Minamino

Age: 30 years old
Citizenship: Japan
Club: Monaco

Takumi Minamino may not be a world football star, but he can certainly have such status in his native Japan. In the past, the winger had a two-and-a-half-year contract at Liverpool, but Takumi never managed to become a key figure for the Reds. As a result, Minamino has been playing in France since the summer of 2022 for Monaco, which paid a large sum of 15 million euros to the British for his transfer.

In Monaco, Minamino is constantly a key player, but on December 21 last year, in the 5th round match of the French Cup against Auxerre (2:1), the Japanese midfielder was injured, and then doctors determined that it was a rupture of the cruciate ligament in the knee. The normal recovery time in such cases is 6-9 months, effectively ending Takumi’s hopes of playing in the 2026 World Cup. It will be a real miracle if the midfielder, who played 73 times for Japan and helped the Blue Samurai defeat Brazil 3-2 in a friendly match in October, continues to take part in the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Muhammed Salisu

Age: 26 years old
Citizenship: Ghana
Club: Monaco

Mohammed Salisu, Minamino’s teammate and one of the strongest players in the current Ghana national team, also risks not being able to play in the 2026 World Cup. The former football player from Southampton, for whom Monaco paid 15 million euros in August 2023, was injured in early January this year and it is very possible that he will not be able to go to the USA, Canada and Mexico as a player for the national team.

Doctors diagnosed Salisu with a cruciate ligament tear in his knee. In theory, this could mean that Muhammad will miss slightly less than he would with a rupture… But in the near future, Salis will need to undergo several additional examinations that will help determine the severity of his injury and what treatment would be more appropriate to choose. And there is a risk here that further examination will reveal that the African has more serious injuries than currently expected. Then he will definitely not be able to play in the 2026 World Cup, but so far doctors have not specified a specific time frame for recovery. It is clear that we are talking about months, not days or weeks…

Andreas Christensen

Age: 29 years old
Citizenship: Denmark
Club: barcelona

The Danish national team has not yet qualified for the 2026 World Cup. In March, this team will first have to play against North Macedonia and, if successful, in the play-offs against the winner of the Czech Republic-Ireland double. However, the Danes are seen as the favorites by many, but they will definitely have to earn a ticket to the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico without key defender Andreas Christensen.

The 29-year-old Barcelona defender, who lost his role as an important figure in the Blaugranas in recent years largely due to frequent health problems, suffered a partial rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee at the end of December last year and preferred a conservative treatment method. This in theory leaves Denmark with a better chance of continuing to play at the 2026 World Cup in the summer if they manage to qualify.

Eder Militao

Age: 27 years old
Citizenship: Brazil
Club: Real

On December 8, 2025, it was learned that Eder Militao, the defender of Real Madrid and the Brazilian national team, was injured. It was related to a muscle tear in his left thigh, which resulted in doctors deciding it would take around four months for the Brazilian player to fully recover. In fact, we should see Militao on the football fields at the beginning of April, two months before the start of the 2026 World Cup.

It would seem, what is the risk of Eder missing the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico? The problem is that Militao has literally become “glass” in recent years. It haunts injury after injury. Muscle injuries and cruciate ligament problems in the knee have almost become a “chronic” for the Brazilian defender; Therefore, no one has confidence in Militao’s real playing conditions and abilities to go to North America in the summer. It is worth noting that Eder played four matches for the Selecao in the 2022 World Cup; two in the group stage, 1/8 against South Korea in the final (4:1) and 1/4 against Croatia in the final (1:1, 2:4 – on penalties).

Justin Kluivert

Age: 26 years old
Citizenship: Holland
Club: Bournemouth

Bournemouth and Netherlands midfielder Justin Kluivert, the son of legendary former Orange forward Patrick Kluivert, may also join the sadness of those who will miss the final part of the 2026 World Cup due to health problems. Justin had surgery on his problematic knee on January 4 and now doctors will try to get him back on his feet as soon as possible so that Kluivert can continue to be useful to both Bournemouth and the Dutch national team.

Predictions so far are that Justin will return by April. This will allow the football player to realize his dream and play in the World Cup, especially since Justin took part in six matches and made one assist. But you can think as far ahead as you want and, more importantly, how Kluivert’s recovery process will actually progress after he missed a total of two calendar months last year due to various injuries and health problems…

Levi Colwill

Age: 22 years old
Citizenship: England
Club: Chelsea

Young defender Levi Colwill was seen by many observers as one of the key figures in the process of rejuvenating the England national team squad. Colwill made his debut in the “three lions” camp in October 2023 and was expected to go to the 2026 World Cup as he was the best player for his hometown Chelsea last year and is currently valued at up to 50 million euros on the Transfermarkt portal, but…

In August 2025, Levi tore his “crucifixes”, so he was away from football for a long time. Latest predictions suggest Colwill’s recovery is expected in late May or early June, making it extremely unlikely that this will contribute to the Chelsea center being recalled to the England squad for the 2026 World Cup. In the end, Thomas Tuchel in the USA, Canada and Mexico will need the most prepared football players who can finally seriously compete for the championship and are not limited to elimination at an early stage or a brave fight almost to the end, but without winning the cup. We would like to remind you that Football England was waiting for its second championship because it won its first and first in the 1966 World Cup.

Legendary former football player Zinedine Zidane Discussions were held regarding cooperation with the French Football Federation. This was reported by Footmercato and L’Équipe.

The French national team and technical staff have started their preparations for the World Cup to be held in the USA. Les Bleus have friendly matches scheduled for March (against Brazil and Colombia) and June (against Ivory Coast).

The upcoming World Cup will be Didier Deschamps’ last match with the French team he has managed since 2012.

French Football Federation and Zidane’s delegation met to discuss future cooperation. One of Zinedine’s assistants is expected to be the famous specialist David Bettoni, with whom he previously worked at Real Madrid.

The sides also discussed Zidane’s desire to have a squad large enough by national team standards, including a data analysis unit.

The world football legend plans to coordinate these steps separately with the federation, whose policy does not provide a budget increase for the national team staff.

In the updated ranking of the world’s strongest teams, the French team ranked third after Spain and Argentina.

🚨 BREAKING NEWS: PSSI-nya Prancis (FFF) made an official statement regarding Zinédine Zidane’s participation in the national Prancis World Infantry 2026. 🇲🇫

Process pemilihan staf kepelatihannya juga water mulai berjalan.

📝 @lequipe pic.twitter.com/3pMTcn8g1R

– Extra Time in Indonesia (@idextratime) January 16, 2026