Sitting at home watching teammates win
In June 2014, Marco Reus just experienced his best season in his young career. 23 goals for Borussia Dortmund helped him be named in the list to compete for the starting position of the German national team at the World Cup. However, in the friendly match with Armenia, he was injured with the same result as a lightning strike - torn ankle ligaments. The World Cup dream ended before it even had time to start.
Reus, like many other players, must have sympathy and understanding for those who will miss the 2026 World Cup. Hugo Ekitike (France), Kaoru Mitoma (Japan), Rodrygo and Estevao (Brazil), Patrick Agyemang (USA), Serge Gnabry (Germany), Xavi Simons (Netherlands), most recently Lennart Karl (Germany), they all joined the "brotherhood" of players whose injuries extinguished the World Cup dream.
Reus once had to watch his teammates win the championship from afar. The German Football Association offered to take him to Rio de Janeiro to watch the final (against Argentina), but he refused. Outwardly, it is to focus on recovery, but it can also be understood that it will only evoke chaotic emotions, if not to say terrible.
Missing the World Cup that the home team won is clearly a pain, just like Christian Vieri. England and Italy soon succumbed in 1998 and 2002, so the goal of atone was in 2006. Coach Marcelo Lippi still intended to choose "Bull" despite experiencing a difficult season, but he suffered a knee injury in March and was eliminated. After that, Azzurri were crowned champions in Germany. "Of course, that night in Berlin was perfect, the only thing missing was myself" - he said.
When fate has chosen
Perhaps even more cruel is missing the opportunity to lift the trophy as captain. Emerson was the captain of Brazil before the 2002 World Cup, but missed the entire tournament in a rare situation after suffering a shoulder dislocation while catching a goal while training. "When something has to happen, it will happen," Emerson said.
When fate has chosen, great players also find it difficult to escape. Alfredo Di Stefano helped Spain qualify for the 1962 World Cup but was injured before the tournament and not fit enough to play. Karim Benzema suffered a thigh muscle strain in 2022, missing France's journey to the final. Pep Guardiola missed the 1998 World Cup due to injury. Rafael van der Vaart suffered a calf strain while training right before the Dutch squad was announced in 2014.
Like Romario, he was more resentful when he was eliminated from the Brazilian squad in 1998. He suffered a calf injury but could still contribute to a part of the tournament, but Mario Zagallo did not want to waste the position for a player who was not completely healthy. Romario then responded with a cartoon of Zagallo, pasted on the bathroom door of a bar he owns in Rio de Janeiro.
Some players faced difficult physical choices like Steven Gerrard in 2002. Persistent injuries in the season put him on the spot, surgery to ensure fitness for the World Cup, meaning missing important weeks when Liverpool competed for a Champions League spot. In the end, he chose continuous treatment to play for the club. But in the last match of the season, Gerrard suffered a tear in his groin. And missed the World Cup.
But sometimes, missing the World Cup is an underlying luck. Like Robert Pires - his ACL ligament rupture at the end of the season, was not part of the French team that was shamefully eliminated from the group stage of the 2002 World Cup. Similarly, Lassana Diarra in 2010, also with the chaotic French team.
From another perspective, sometimes injuries can suddenly end glorious international careers. Such as Michael Ballack being eliminated in 2010 and the young German team with Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil and Bastian Schweinsteiger unexpectedly reaching the semi-finals. Since then, head coach Joachim Low has not chosen Ballack, leading to prolonged controversy and resentment.
How do players face the tournament when it takes place? Is it too painful for a player to watch when they should be there? Reus's advice to Karl, Ekitike, Mitoma, Rodrygo, Estevao, Agyemang, Gnabry, Simons and others is: look to the future.
