Coaches finally put World Cup hopefuls out of their misery on Tuesday when they named their final squads for the tournament, shattering some dreams while also handing out the opportunity of a lifetime.
World champions Italy sprung a surprise, with coach Marcello Lippi choosing Napoli striker Fabio Quagliarella ahead of AC Milan striker Marco Borriello and Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi, who both miss out on the finals.
England winger Theo Walcott, surprisingly called up for the 2006 tournament at the age of 17, was unexpectedly left at home this time when Fabio Capello cut his squad to 23 players on deadline day.
While there were no shock omissions on Tuesday, several ageing big names from previous World Cups had already been cast aside, including Netherlands striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, France midfielder Patrick Vieira and Brazil playmaker Ronaldinho.
Injuries have also robbed the tournament of the likes of Ghana’s Michael Essien and England’s David Beckham.
The man who called up Walcott four years ago, Sven-Goran Eriksson, had an emotional day reducing his Ivory Coast squad from 30, eventually chopping experienced players like Bakary Kone, Gilles Yapi Yapo and Emerse Fae.
“It’s always sad when you have to tell seven players they have to go home. It’s not the best part of a manager’s job, but it has to be done,” a glum-looking Eriksson said after naming his squad.
While most rejected players had other despondent team mates to commiserate with, Germany defender Andreas Beck had to cope with being the only man axed from their list.
Coach Joachim Loew’s preliminary squad had already been reduced to 24 because of injuries to players such as captain Michael Ballack.
“This decision is indeed very difficult because, simply, you are sending home a player who had hopes of playing in the tournament and always dreamed of the World Cup,” Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff said.
Goalkeeper Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche was the only exclusion as Algeria finalized its 23-man squad for the World Cup.
Meanwhile, injured Galatasaray forward Harry Kewell was included while Middlesbrough defender Rhys Williams was omitted from Australia’s 23-man World Cup squad containing 14 veterans from Germany 2006.
Everton midfielder Tim Cahill, Kewell and his Galatasaray clubmate Lucas Neill and Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer headline an experienced squad.
Football Federation Australia said coach Pim Verbeek submitted his final squad to FIFA ahead of Tuesday’s deadline, but delayed announcing it publicly until after yesterday’s practice because he wanted to explain it to the players first.
Williams, who committed to Australia last year after playing some junior internationals for Wales, was a surprise omission after struggling to overcome a persistent pelvic problem.
Verbeek blamed Middlesbrough’s handling of Williams’ injury for the 20-year-old defender’s World Cup absence.
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