World Cup news: Best XI of players who won’t be in Russia

Virgil van Dijk – Netherlands

The other shock nation to not appear in the 2018 World Cup is the Netherlands. One player in particular who will suffer from this is Virgil van Dijk of Southampton.

The centre back is keen to leave the Saints this season, after a failed transfer saga in the summer which saw him miss out on a move to Liverpool. There’s no denying that Liverpool will be sniffing around the situation, but the Dutchman would have wanted to use Russia as his chance to impress Jurgen Klopp, as well as other managers in Europe.

During his time at St Mary’s, he has started to cement himself as one of the best defenders in the league, and his Liverpool interest has gained him a reputation worldwide.

He will want to push himself to performing on a bigger stage, and the World Cup is the biggest stage of them all.