What would a World Cup be without some of the biggest names in soccer? The World Cup in 2010 is shaping up to show what happens when the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi or Zlatan Ibrahimovic don't show up to take part.
The qualifying struggles of each player's home country has been well documented. Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic share the same UEFA qualifying group, Group 1, that has been controlled by Denmark. Because of the Danes success, it is guaranteed that either Portugal or Sweden will be unable to make it to either an automatic bid or a playoff spot — unless the Danish team were to have a collapse of epic proportion.
Down in South America, Argentina has struggled mightily to play consistently under Diego Maradona. As a result, Lionel Messi, perhaps the best player in the world at the moment, finds himself in jeopardy of missing the cup. Of the three players, Messi does seem most likely to make it, with Argentina looking safe to at least make the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff — assuming Argentina could easily take care of their CONCACAF opponent.
Who do you think will miss the World Cup in 2010 of these three? Will all three somehow get in? And what will be the fallout of it?
Share your thoughts below.
