Every four years, some of the biggest superstars in world football gather to battle each other to win the World Cup.
This year's tournament is no different, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe all flying out to Qatar. Some superstars though will be forced to watch on from their televisions at home, either because of injury or their country's failure to qualify.
Among the group not to be flying out are Premier League winners, Champions League winners and even previous World Cup winners. Here, Mirror Football looks at 25 of the biggest names not to be featuring in Qatar.
Erling Haaland
The Manchester City striker will not be going to the World Cup after Norway failed to qualify from their group. Despite Haaland scoring five goals, Norway finished third in their qualifying group, behind the Netherlands and Turkey.
Reece James
For much of the season, Reece James had looked to be a nailed-on starter for England in Qatar. But an injury suffered against AC Milan back in October has led to him being left at home, with Gareth Southgate uncertain he would recover in time for the group stages.
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David de Gea
Manchester United keeper David de Gea remains one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premier League. Despite his impressive performances for United though, he has been left out of the Spain squad, with Luis Enrique instead taking Unai Simon, Robert Sanchez and David Raya to battle it out for the number one shirt.
Luis Diaz
Luis Diaz has starred for Liverpool since joining the Reds in January, becoming a key player for Jurgen Klopp. But he will not be in Qatar after Colombia failed to qualify, with eight draws and five defeats seeing them miss out on a place in the inter-confederation play-offs by a point.
Mohamed Salah
It was heartbreak for Mohamed Salah back in March when his Egypt side lost to Senegal on penalties to miss out on a place at the World Cup. Salah missed his side's first spot-kick in the shootout as Egypt were bombarded by laser lights from the crowd and they ultimately lost 3-1.
Paul Pogba
The mercurial midfielder was a World Cup winner in France four years ago, but he will not be looking to retain their crown this year. That is because Pogba torn his meniscus in pre-season training, with the Juventus star still recovering from the injury.
Gianluigi Donnarumma
The player of the tournament at Euro 2020 will not be seen at the World Cup after Italy failed to qualify. After finishing second in their qualifying group, they suffered a shock defeat to North Macedonia in their play-off semi-final, with the visitors scoring a last-minute winner.
David Alaba
He's regularly held up as one of the world's best defenders, but David Alaba will not be in Qatar. Austria made it into the qualifying play-offs but lost their semi-final to Wales after Gareth Bale scored two stunning goals to send his side through.
Andy Robertson
Andy Robertson has become one of the Premier League's best full-backs and helped Scotland to reach the play-offs. But in an emotionally-charged semi-final, they were comfortably defeated by Ukraine, leaving Robertson at home.
Nicolo Barella
Barella is one of the best midfielders in Europe, but he was unable to help Italy make it past North Macedonia. The Inter Milan star started the game, but saw his side suffer a shock defeat.
Mykhaylo Mudryk
Shakhtar Donetsk star Mudryk has a number of top European clubs chasing his signature. But he will not be able to show off his talent at the World Cup after Ukraine heartbreakingly lost their play-off final to Wales.
Roberto Firmino
Roberto Firmino has endured a couple of difficult seasons recently, but he has been in impressive form in this campaign. That was not enough to convince Brazil manager Tite to include him in his squad though, with Firmino forced to watch on with his country one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota looked set to star for Portugal at the World Cup, but he suffered an aggravated hamstring injury during Liverpool's win over Manchester City in October. He has been unable to recover from the problem in time to feature in Qatar.
Timo Werner
After a difficult spell at Chelsea, Timo Werner had recovered his goalscoring boots back at RB Leipzig. But he suffered a syndesmotic ligament tear in his side's Champions League win over Dontesk at the start of this month which has ruled him out of playing any part for Germany this winter.
Christopher Nkunku
Arguably possessing the most heart-breaking reason for missing of all the players on this list is Christopher Nkunku. The striker was injured during France training earlier this week and he will now miss the tournament.
Zlatan Ibrahimović
One of the biggest names in world football following his spells at Barcelona, PSG and Manchester United, Ibrahimović has not played in a World Cup since 2006. That is now likely to have been his last major tournament, with Sweden having lost to Poland in their play-off final to fail to make it Qatar.
Riyad Mahrez
Mahrez has been one of the best wingers in the Premier League and won the title four times. But he will not be playing in Qatar after Algeria lost their qualifying play-off final round to Cameroon on away goals.
Federico Chiesa
While Italy failed to qualify after their loss to North Macedonia, it is unlikely Chiesa would have featured in Qatar even if they had made it. The Juventus star has only just returned to match fitness after rupturing his ACL last season, with Roberto Mancini unlikely to have included him in his squad.
Thiago
Thiago has been one of Liverpool's best players despite their disappointing season. But his performances were not enough to earn him a place in the Spain squad, with his last international appearance coming at Euro 2020.
Marco Verratti
Verratti has starred for PSG this season and featured heavily as Italy won Euro 2020 last year. But his game-time on the international stage has dwindled since then, though he did play all 90 minutes of the Azzurri's qualifying play-off defeat to North Macedonia, which means they will not be in Qatar.
Martin Odegaard
Odegaard has captained Arsenal to the top of the Premier League this season, ending the first half of the campain by scoring twice in a win over Wolves. But he was unable to inspire Norway in the same manner, with Odegaard's side finishing third in their group and missing out on qualification.
Juan Cuadrado
Juan Cuadrado has starred for Juventus and played in two World Cups for Colombia. But he was unable to help them to reach Qatar this time, with Los Cafeteros failing to even reach the inter-confederation play-offs.
Ben Chilwell
Another England player to suffer injury heartbreak has been Ben Chilwell. The Chelsea star suffered a hamstring injury in his side's final Champions League group stage game, a problem he will not recover from in time to feature in Qatar.
Sergio Ramos
Sergio Ramos is one of the legends of the modern game and has recovered from a difficult first season to impress at PSG. But he has long since fallen out of Spain boss Luis Enrique's plans, leading to heartbreak for the defender this year.
" I can say that this season I am feeling myself again and enjoying football again, at my club and in a great city like Paris. The World Cup? Of course, it was one of the big dreams I had. It would have been the fifth but unfortunately I have to watch it from home," he said.
Jan Oblak
He is undoubtedly one of the world's best goalkeepers, but unfortunately for Jan Oblak, he will not be playing in the World Cup. He played every minute of Slovenia's campaign, but they finished fourth in their group, eight points adrift of the qualification spots.
