The World Cup is almost set in terms of the teams that will qualify and once the play-offs are completed it will be clear whether the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Franck Ribery will be present or missing. In the meantime, Sweden’s talented forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic will certainly not be going to the World Cup after his country failed to qualify from the same group which saw eventual winners Denmark earn automatic qualification and runners-up Portugal reach the play-offs.

Perhaps the African continent will see many of its star players missing in comparison with other regions since countries such as Nigeria, Egypt and Togo will likely miss out unless they win and results fall in their favor. Still, with the likes of Didier Drogba and Michael Essien making it to South Africa, the missing players such as Egypt’s Amr Zaki (previously on loan with Wigan Athletic) and Nigeria’s Obafemi Martins (previously with Newcastle United) do not share the same prestige and talent. Thus, the most important missing players will likely come from Europe and Barcelona’s Ibrahimovic must be one of the most talented players on the list of absentees. If both France and Portugal fail to qualify then the list will extend to include a number of other notable names.

Other players who will likely miss out due to various reasons include Italy’s Antonio Cassano who continues to be overlooked by Azzurri coach Marcello Lippi despite his influential role in Sampdoria’s strong start to the domestic league. Cassano has yet to feature in any of the matches since Lippi took over again following coach Roberto Donadoni’s unconvincing tenure. Spain’s Raul will probably be another familiar name missing once the World Cup begins next summer. The Real Madrid icon has witnessed a steady decline the past couple of years as age kicks in yet he remains Spain’s all-time leading scorer.

Two other names that could be missing on South Africa despite their country’s qualification include Brazilians Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. Ronaldo is a few goals behind legend Pele on the Brazilian all-time scoring list yet he might not play again for his country due to injuries which have decimated his career. The former Barcelona, Internazionale and Milan striker is also the World Cup’s top scorer after netting a total of 15 times.

His compatriot Ronaldinho, who ironically also played for Barcelona and now wears the Rossoneri shirt, was instrumental in many of Barcelona’s victories in Spain and Europe as well as Brazil’s World Cup 2002 triumph when he scored the infamous free-kick against England in the quarter-final stage. Ronaldinho is desperately trying to revive his career after a stuttering start to the season with Milan. Unless Ronaldinho rediscovers his old form then he is unlikely to earn a recall from coach Dunga.

The Brazilian coach may spring a surprise if his roster does not include Milan’s young striker Alexandre Pato. The Rossoneri’s attacker played a fundamental role in Milan’s famous away victory against Los Galacticos and is currently beginning to fire on all cylinders. Pato was not included in Dunga’s latest squad which will play England and Oman in friendly matches.

Finally, Italy’s Lippi may also not call up Alessandro Del Piero as the veteran forward begins his journey to regain full fitness after a series of niggling injuries at the start of this season. Del Piero has often delivered for his club Juventus yet the same cannot be said of his international career with his two main contributions to the Azzurri including the ending of Germany’s hopes in the semi-final in Germany 2006 when he scored the second goal in over-time and clinching a draw against Mexico in South Korea 2002. Del Piero scored to bring the Azzurri on level with the Mexicans and helping his country qualify to the second round in the process.

Italy will perhaps miss two other World Cup winners in the shape of the returning defensive maestro Alessandro Nesta and Roma’s talisman Francesco Totti. Nesta has had a solid start to the season yet he has quit the international game despite calls for his return based on his recent performances while Totti continues to struggle with various injuries and it seems unlikely he will feature for the Italians in South Africa.