With 36 Scudetti to its name, Juventus is the most successful club in the history of Serie A by some distance. It’s no surprise, then, that the squad is still packed with plenty of household names today. They may have suffered a very underwhelming start to the 2022/23 season, winning just half of their opening 12 matches, but the Old Lady still has star quality in her ranks.
Nonetheless, it’s likely that there will be more of the club’s first team squad putting their feet up on the beach than those competing for the sport’s biggest accolade in Qatar this winter. We take a look at some of the biggest names who won’t be boarding a plane for the Middle East when the World Cup kicks off this November.
Leonardo Bonucci
At 35 years young, Juventus captain Leonardo Bonucci is still going strong for club and country. Unfortunately for him, his national team were not able to build upon their success at the Euros last summer by qualifying for the biggest competition in football in Qatar. Of course, Bonucci is just one of many Italian players on Juve’s books who won’t be making that trip this winter – but he’s undoubtedly the most famous.
Juan Cuadrado
It’s not just the Juve captain who won’t feature in Qatar – the club’s vice-captain is also set to miss out. Juan Cuadrado, who is enjoying a new lease of life with the Bianconeri as a converted wing-back, also misses out by virtue of the fact that Colombia finished a lowly sixth in Conmebol qualifying this year. That wasn’t even enough for them to secure a playoff spot and like Bonucci, Cuadrado will have to watch the action unfold from afar.
Paul Pogba
Headlines seem to cling to Paul Pogba like white on rice. Those who like to spend their time following soccer and news will have been enthralled by his controversial transfer return from Manchester United this summer, but they may well have been equally transfixed by revelations that he has failed to recover from surgery on his meniscus and will miss the World Cup as a result. Poor Pogba!
Dusan Vlahovic
Unlike the other names on this list, Juve’s star striker Dusan Vlahovic still has a chance of appearing in Qatar. His national team Serbia have qualified and find themselves in Group G alongside Brazil, Cameroon, and Switzerland. However, the 22-year-old marksman suffered a troubling adductor injury in a recent Champions League tie against Benfica and he’s now a serious doubt to lead his country. Fingers crossed!
Dejan Kulusevski
Okay, okay, so Dejan Kulusevski moved to Tottenham on loan in January and looks all but certain to sign for the North London side on a permanent basis sooner rather than later. However, he still remains on Juve’s books at the present time and there’s no denying he’s a huge talent, wherever he plies his trade. Unfortunately, that won’t be in Qatar as Sweden didn’t make the cut this time around.
Italy’s surprise failure to qualify for the World Cup for only the third time in its history is responsible for many Juventus players not featuring in Qatar this year, but there are other big names from other nations set to miss out, too.
