60 LaLiga players very much alive in the World Cup
Now that the FIFA World Cup 2022 group stage is over, which included some massive surprises, it’s time to recap how things have gone for LaLiga players.
Originally 87 footballers were called up to play in Qatar from Spain’s first and second division, although early on France had to deliver some unlucky news regarding Karim Benzema’s physical condition, which lowered the count to 86.
Something similar happened in Spain with José Gayá, yet his replacement was Alejandro Balde, also from LaLiga. This also meant F.C. Barcelona broke a new record by having 17 of their players take part in the tournament. No club had ever sent so many footballers to a World Cup.
So let’s take a look, group by group, to see who’s gone and who’s still living the dream of lifting football’s most prestigious trophy.
Group A
Just one player of this group had to depart from Qatar sooner than he would’ve hoped for. We’re talking about Valladolid’s Gonzalo Plata, who was close to qualifying after his team possibly deserved more in their 1-1 draw vs the Netherlands and after a very tight final game against Senegal that ultimately knocked them out.
Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay are through after topping the group and will face USA. Same goes for Youssouf Sabaly, Pathé Ciss and Nicolas Jackson who are now up against England.
Countdown: 85
Group B
No big number of losses either in this group with Amir Abedzadeh being the only LaLiga (SmartBank) player to abandon the World Cup. The S.D. Ponferradina footballer didn’t get the chance to make his debut but was surely cheering is teammates to get that single goal against USA that would’ve kept them in the WC.
Yunus Musah and Luca de la Torre were the only two other LaLiga players involved in Group B, successfully making it through to the next round where they’ll challenge the Netherlands.
Countdown: 84
Group C
With Argentina topping their group, a big chunk of LaLiga players are still involved. The only two other names from this group that compete in the Spanish top tier are Robert Lewandowski and Andrés Guardado.
But with Mexico failing to score one more goal against Saudi Arabia that would’ve seen them through, Poland benefitted from the goal difference despite their poor performance against Argentina.
Countdown: 83
Group D
One of the biggest disappointments of the tournament was definitely Denmark, getting stunned by Australia in the last game of the group stage and sending Andreas Christensen, Kasper Dolberg, Thomas Delaney and Martin Braithwaite back home. In Delaney’s case, the tournament was over sooner due to an unfortunate injury during Denmark’s first match.
So Awer Mabil, Cadiz’s only representative in the tournament, remains in it and will come up against Leo Messi’s Argentina. Same goes for France, who despite losing to Tunisia in the last game, topped their group and will face Poland in the round of 16.
Countdown: 79
Group E
This was one of the two groups with at least one LaLiga player in each nation and also the one with more LaLiga representatives, basically because Spain were in it.
So there were bound to be some LaLiga footballers signing off after the group stage, and for a few minutes it seemed like Spain’s 18 representatives might’ve had to say goodbye after Costa Rica took the lead versus Germany, while Japan were beating the Spaniards.
Fortunately for Spain, the Germans managed a comeback which wasn’t enough for Marc André Ter Stegen and Antonio Rüdiger to continue in Qatar, dragging Costa Rica’s and Lugo’s Patrick Sequeira with them.
Countdown: 76
Group F
The biggest upset probably took place in this group, with Belgium not even qualifying in second place despite Romelu Lukaku being at the end of some incredible chances that somehow never went in. A result that not only leaves Robert Martínez without a job, but also sends Thibaut Courtois, Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel and Yannick Carrasco all back to Madrid.
On the other hand, it was a pleasant surprise to see Morocco win the group ahead of Croatia and prove that the hype surrounding them was for a reason. Spain will be their biggest challenge yet.
Countdown: 72
Group G
Serbia’s underwhelming tournament means six LaLiga players have dropped out of the race for the World Cup trophy: Marko Dmitrović, Nemanja Gudelj, Stefan Mitrović, Nemanja Maksimović, Predrag Rajković and Srdan Babić.
Meanwhile, Brasil and Switzerland finish the group equal on points taking Éder Militao, Vinícius Jr., Rodrygo, Alex Telles and Raphinha through to the next round for Brazil and Eray Cömert for the Swiss. But it’s worth pointing out Telles left the game in tears after being subbed due to an injury.
Countdown: 66
Group H
Last but not least, another six players say goodbye with the eliminations of Uruguay and Ghana. The Charrúas were savouring the round of 16 until a 90th minute goal from South Korea broke Uruguayan hearts. So José María Giménez, Ronald Araujo, Fede Valverde and Edinson Cavani end their journey sooner than they would’ve hoped for.
Same goes for Iñaki Williams and Joseph Aidoo, while William Carvalho, João Félix and Kang-in Lee keep the dream alive.
Final count: 60 players from LaLiga will still be taking part in the World Cup, which is a fantastic representation for the knock-out stages.