Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal stars in danger of missing out on expanded 48-team World Cup | OneFootball

As the stagger unwinds across various continents’ World Cup qualifying competitions, we’re starting to get a clearer idea about which countries – and thus which star players – might somehow still be in danger of missing out on a tournament almost everyone (well, 48 countries) now qualifies for.

Fair to say the peril for these guys still ranges from ‘mild’ to ‘extreme’ to ‘confirmed’ and there’s plenty still to keep an eye on across the remainder of the current international break and the final box-filling in March.

You can check out how World Cup qualifying for the new expanded 48-team tournament works here, because in lots of places it’s now very different to how it was before.

In particular, as you’ll see, there are some huge names from European countries particularly grateful for the whopping great safety net that’s in place for teams who won their most recent Nations League group – at whatever level.

Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres (Sweden)

Let the always entertaining and in no way boring Liverpool-Arsenal arguments begin over who is better out of Isak and Viktor Gyokeres. And then row in, mischief blazing, and insist the answer is in fact Dejan Kulusevski, actually.

But the main point here is that right now all of them are at serious risk of missing the World Cup, with Sweden already looking mighty relieved to have that Nations League-based safety net to get them into the play-offs because they sit forlornly right at the very bottom of their qualifying group, 12 whole points behind perennial qualifiers Switzerland and nine behind second-placed Kosovo.

That wretched form means they can’t be given much hope of grabbing one of the four places 16 teams will fight for next March, despite the quality in their ranks.

Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

Having cited ‘mental tiredness’ as he made himself unavailable for June’s international break, Poland’s talisman was replaced as captain by coach Michal Probierz. Lewandowski’s response was to say that he would not play for Poland again until the coach was sacked.

A damaging 2-1 defeat to Finland on the back of the Lewandowki spat meant that by the time the September internationals came along, Probierz was gone and Lewandowski was back for an impressive 1-1 draw in Holland secured by Matty Cash’s late equaliser.

A 3-1 return win over Finland means fears of missing out altogether have now eased, but it’s going to be a journey down what is almost guaranteed to be a tricky play-off route in which 16 entrants of assorted quality are whittled down to four qualifiers.

Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)

Getting battered by a ridiculously talented Norway side has cost manager Luciano Spalletti his job but it could also help cost Italy a place at the World Cup, and that includes the Manchester City goalkeeper.

Italy, like Poland, will have to take their chances in the play-offs next year after the formalities of their second-place finish were confirmed by another harrowing thrashing from club team-mate Erling Haaland and co.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)

Having gone up another level following his move to PSG and swift treble glory inside six months, Kvaratskhelia is now well established among the very best players in the world.

But he still faces an uphill struggle to qualify for a World Cup with Georgia, having to come through what is the toughest and most competitive qualification region and also the one to benefit the least from the expansion to 48 teams.

Georgia are already out of contention this time, trailing way behind Spain and Turkey in their group.

Nikola Milenkovic (Serbia)

Interesting times for the centre-back, who has seen an awful lot of things change at Nottingham Forest over recent weeks and months while also watching Serbia make a mess of a World Cup group in which finishing well behind England was no disgrace but failing to muster much of a challenge to Albania for the runner-up spot – and with it a chance in the play-offs – definitely was.

Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon)

Even with Africa being one of the big winners from the World Cup’s expansion, a couple of traditional big names have got themselves in bother with Cameroon among the headline-making failures to qualify.

Cameroon lost out to Cape Verde in what was one of the big stories from qualification anywhere, and then crashed out of the play-offs that could’ve kept them in contention until March.

Plenty of familiar names in the Cameroon squad, but Manchester United’s big summer signing from Brentford would be the biggest.

Yves Bissouma (Mali)

Out of favour at Tottenham and out of the World Cup after Mali could finish only third in their qualifying group behind Ghana and Madagascar.

Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)

Another African country with plenty of World Cup pedigree who won’t be in North America next summer is Nigeria after losing on penalties to DR Congo in the play-off final for a place in next March’s last-chance inter-confederation play-offs.

Galatasaray striker and Liverpool mini-crisis contributor Osimhen is perhaps the biggest global star from a squad that underperformed badly during qualification, but he is far from alone. Alex Iwobi, Wilfrid Ndidi, Ademola Lookman, Ola Aina and Kelechi Iheanacho have all been involved.