12 world class stars who are by far their country’s best players.
The international break can be a bit of a drag for fans of club football, with largely pointless friendlies and one-sided qualifiers taking place and disrupting the flow of ‘real’ football in the Premier League and Champions League. Well, for these players, it can’t be much fun either, with some world class stars unlucky to represent nations who have no hope of achieving anything at major tournaments, or even qualifying for them in some cases…
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12) Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
One of the best strikers in the world, Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski is by far Poland’s best player and was one of many big names missing from this summer’s World Cup as his country failed to qualify for the competition in Brazil.
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11) Edin Dzeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko has won two Premier League titles at club level whilst becoming one of the most prolific forwards in England. For Bosnia, however, it is difficult to see him achieving anything great anytime soon.
10) Stevan Jovetic (Montenegro)
Another Manchester City striker, Stevan Jovetic is undoubtedly the stand-out member of Montenegro’s squad, and qualification for a major tournament would be quite an achievement in itself if they manage it.
9) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)
A fine player for Borussia Dortmund, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opted to play for Gabon at international level, despite representing France Under-21s earlier in his career. A mistake?
8) Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Armenia)
The Borussia Dortmund playmaker has been voted Armenian Player of the Year in four of the last five years since 2009, which is little surprise given the competition.
7) David Alaba (Austria)
A superb young left-back at Bayern Munich, David Alaba has won the treble at club level as a key player for the Bundesliga giants, but he can only dream of such success at international level with Austria.
6) Christian Eriksen (Denmark)
One of the most promising young playmakers in the game, Tottenham Hotspur star Christian Eriksen is certainly carrying much of Denmark’s hopes on his young shoulders.
5) Marek Hamsik (Slovakia)
Although Slovakia celebrated a memorable win over Spain in this international break, they are far from a great side and Marek Hamsik of Napoli is surely the pick of the bunch for their national team.
4) Mehdi Benatia (Morocco)
One of the best centre-backs in the world at the moment, Bayern Munich’s summer signing Mehdi Benatia is unfortunate to play for the otherwise poor Morocco at international level, with the likes of Marouane Chamakh among his team-mates.
3) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
Sweden have often had a few good players, but in this generation it is certainly clear that Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is by far the most talented member of their squad, but he can only do so much and failed to help them to the World Cup this summer.
2) Gareth Bale (Wales)
A truly world class talent doing well at Real Madrid after becoming the most expensive player of all time, Gareth Bale is Wales’ main hope of qualifying for any major tournament. Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey’s not bad either.
1) Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Portugal, like Sweden, have always had at least a few good players, but again it is clear in this generation that Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo is their stand-out talent and only hope of achieving anything. Still, he wasn’t enough to prevent them crashing out at the group stage of this summer’s World Cup.