Whenever a World Cup comes around, there are always plenty of topics for conversation sparked by the tournament. Football fans love a bit of speculation, World Cup betting raises the level of predictions, and the moment that the opening few games appear on the horizon, the hypotheticals arise. Who would be in your team of the tournament? Who should be on the plane for England, but isn’t?
A popular hypothetical at any World Cup is the one sparked by the absence of some of the bigger stars and the top footballing nations: Imagine that the 32nd place in the competition went to a Rest of the World squad made up from players whose countries hadn’t made it. Who would be in that squad? Below, starting with the goalkeepers and ending with the attack, are some ideas. Not a full 23, but a starting XI at least…
Goalkeepers
It’s not hard to pick a starting keeper for this theoretical side. Thanks to Italy’s mystifying failure against North Macedonia, the Azurri aren’t going to be in Qatar, but Gianluigi Donnarumma would be a shoo-in for RoW ‘22. The PSG stopper was a key part of the Italian side that won the Euros, saving from Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka in the final penalty shoot-out. With Colombia not having made it, David Ospina would be a solid back-up, and wouldn’t have to travel far from his current club, Saudi league side Al Nassr.
Defenders
Italy would contribute significantly here, too, you’ve got to say. Despite his advancing years, Leonardo Bonucci would be a vital cog in the centre of defence and you could add Alessandro Bastoni of Inter, while Napoli’s Giovanni di Lorenzo would be a good shout at right-back. Nigeria’s agonising elimination means that Ajax left-back Calvin Bassey gets on the plane too, and the versatile Davinson Sanchez would represent Colombia in the likely injury-related absence of Everton’s Yerry Mina. If defence wins matches, then the World Cup betting odds – you can find some here – would be smiling on this squad already. And we haven’t even got to the strongest areas…
Midfielders
With Nigeria missing out, there’d be a chance for Wilfried Ndidi to escape the continuing decline of Leicester City for a month as he played the holding role for this scratch team. Swedish fans could also have someone to cheer for in the absence of their national side, with Dejan Kulusevski’s versatility making him a no-brainer here, and another Premier League representative would be Arsenal schemer Martin Odegaard of Norway.
Our theoretical manager – possibly Antonio Conte on hiatus? – would also have the chance to call on the experience of Chile’s Charles Aranguiz and the incisive wing play of Riyad Mahrez, who won’t be here with Algeria. PSV and Cote d’Ivoire midfield colossus Ibrahim Sangare should also have a place in the squad.
Forwards
The list of strikers not able to travel to the competition with their sides is a crying shame, although in the real world at least Manchester City and Liverpool can console themselves that Erling Haaland and Mo Salah will be able to rest up for a month. We’d be calling them up for this side, if it were real, and Haaland in particular would be among the World Cup betting for the Golden Boot. Swedish forward Alexander Isak would also join up. More involvement here for the Cote d’Ivoire, who would send winger Wilfried Zaha and – health permitting – hopefully also Dortmund forward Sebastien Haller.
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