Sadly Italy did not qualify for the Fifa World Cup 2022, leaving many fans and players disappointed. They can, however, be comforted knowing that there are many stars that play in Serie A representing their countries in the tournament this year who are sure to have a big impact on the results. Here are some of the top players to watch from Italian teams this World Cup.
Dybala – Roma and Argentina
Dybala plays forward for Argentina and Roma and will be looking to score big for his country in Qatar. Following an early departure from the tournament in 2018 in Russia after losing to France 4-3 in the round of 16, Argentina will be ready to come out strong this year, and hoping to advance further this time around.
Danilo – Juventus and Brazil
Along with teammates Bremer and Alex Sandro, both at Juventus and Brazil, Danilo will be hoping to help his country achieve a 6th World Cup win this year. After several years of European victories, a fairly straightforward group and an excellent team, Brazil will be fighting to get to the finals and succeed. Danilo is looking like a fantastic choice for your fantasy soccer team, with Brazil likely to take more than one clean sheet at the start of the tournament.
Di Maria – Juventus and Argentina
Coming up to his probable final tournament, Angel Di Maria will also be planning to help Argentina progress further than last time, and hope to secure victory while he can as they did in the Copa America last year where his 22nd minute goal secured his country’s win over Brazil. One lifelong dream met, will he be able to realise another in Qatar?
Lukaku – Inter Milan and Belgium
A favourite among many, Romelu Lukaku is a fixture of Belgian football and currently on loan from Chelsea to Inter Milan. The striker will be hoping to build on his 2018 World Cup third place to reach the finals this tournament, and with teammate De Bruyne is likely to play a significant role in how far their country will get.
Rabiot – Juventus and France
Fresh from their win in Russia 4 years ago, France will be keen to show they still have it despite a rather lacklustre last few games as they go into this year’s World Cup. Adrien Rabiot may get a chance to really show what he can do as part of this exceptional team in the group stages and beyond, while concerns about Juventus and French teammate Paul Pogba’s fitness are yet to be fully answered. He is likely to be chosen and perform well as one France’s best players if he has indeed put his injury behind him and will be another Serie A player to watch in this competition.
There is no doubt that Italian fans will have plenty of their favourite Serie A players to cheer on going into the World Cup this year, and we may see many of them in the later rounds and even through to the final if they perform as they should in the tournament.
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