FIFA Confederations Cup 2017: 5 big names who will miss the tournament
Three Germans make the list.
@churchofthibaut by Nived Zenith Top 5 / Top 10 14 Jun 2017, 20:42 IST
The Confederations Cup will kick off in Russia on Saturday
The FIFA World Cup is still a year away but the Confederations Cup is set to begin on the 17th of June (Saturday) and the teams involved have already travelled to Russia to kick-start their preparations. The tournament will be contested between the winners of FIFA’s six continental championships (UEFA, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF, OFC, AFC) along with the World Cup winners and the host nation.
Also read: FIFA Confederations Cup 2017: 5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo should not feature in the tournament
Germany, Portugal, Chile, Cameroon, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and Russia will be the nations contesting the tournament this year which will begin in St. Petersburg when hosts Russia take on New Zealand in the inaugural match. Here we take a look at five big players who will miss out on the tournament:
#5 Joel Matip (Cameroon)
Matip was suspended by Cameroon after he decided to snub the AFCON
Joel Matip made the headlines for all the wrong reasons in January when he decided to snub Cameroon’s AFCON campaign along with a few of his teammates. The defender stayed back with Liverpool during the tournament and missed out on his country’s run to the title.
Matip has always performed well in his country’s colours and was the only shining light in Cameroon’s disastrous World Cup campaign in Brazil three years ago. He also managed to score their only goal of the tournament in a 4-1 loss to the hosts.
Matip made 27 appearances for Liverpool this season and enjoyed almost 2500 minutes of playing time for the Reds, spearheading their first top four finish in two years.
The player has not travelled with the team to Russia, though, after falling down the pecking order. Moreover, head coach Hugo Broos admitted that he doesn’t fancy picking players who don’t value the shirt enough and that could mean the end of Matip’s international career.