The draws for the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be made in Doha, Qatar on Friday but it is already certain that 20 of the most valuable stars will be missing from the showpiece.
Nigeria, having attended all but one of the last seven World Cup competitions since making their debut at the 1994 edition in the USA, will not be in Qatar after the Super Eagles lost out on aggregate to perennial rivals Ghana last Tuesday.
This setback means Nigeria will have to wait for a chance to reach their seventh World Cup for at least another four years at least until 2026 in Canada which is a big blow to a generation of Nigerian players hoping to make their debut in Qatar.
Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Leicester City’s midfielder Wilfred Ndidi (who missed the games against Ghana) are the two Super Eagles stars to have been named in a list of top stars that will be watching the World Cup from the comfort of their homes when the action kicks off in November.
The list, compiled by value as determined by transfermarket.com has Norway’s Erling Haaland in the first position followed by Egypt’s Mohammed Salah who missed one of the Pharaoh’s penalty kicks against reigning African champions Senegal on Tuesday in Dakar, and Federico Chiesa of Italy and Juventus.
Chiesa leads two other Italians namely Marco Verratti and Gigio Donnarumma in the top five. The full list is as follows: Erling Haaland (€150m*); Mohamed Salah (100m); Federico Chiesa (€70m); Nicolò Barella (€70m); Gianluigi Donnarumma (€65m); Milan Skriniar (€65m); Victor Osimhen (€60m); Alessandro Bastoni (€60m); Jan Oblak (€60m); Wilfred Ndidi (€60m); Marco Verratti (€55m); David Alaba (€55m); Luis Diaz (€45m); Caglar Soyunku (€45m); Franck Kessié (€45m); Lorenzo Pellegrini (€45m); Tomas Soucek (€45m); Jorginho (€45m); Martin Odegaard (€40m); Edmond Tapsoba (€40m).
