Top 10 Players To Miss The World Cup

10) David Beckham (2010)
Barring a miracle England’s most capped outfield player will have to be content with ‘just’ the three World Cup appearances as he pulled up with an Achilles tendon injury playing for Milan. He played through the pain barrier in 2002 when he clearly wasn’t fully fit after breaking his second metatarsal, coining the name ‘Beckham bone’ and he limped off during England’s eventual quarter-final defeat to Portugal in 2006.

9) Santiago Canizares (2002)
Bizarre. After years of playing second fiddle to Andoni Zubizarreta the Valencia shot-stopper was given the number one shirt for 2002. Then he encountered a bottle of aftershave, which, in uncharacteristic style, he dropped against his bathroom sink, with a shard of glass severing a tendon in his big toe. He was rushed to hospital and missed the entire tournament, giving rookie keeper Iker Casillas a chance to make a name for himself with two saves in the penalty shoot-out against the Republic of Ireland in the second round.

Emerson (2002)
Got his break when Romario was omitted in 1998 and four years later he was Brazil’s skipper for the ultimately successful Japan/Korea campaign. However it was Cafu and not the then Roma midfielder who lifted the trophy as Emerson dislocated his shoulder mucking around playing in goal in a practice match just prior to the tournament, ensuring he was a spectator as Big Phil Scolari led his unfancied outfit to a fifth World Cup.