Olympique Marseille midfielder Dimitri Payet is not included in France's 23-man squad after leaving last season's Europa League final with a thigh injury. France coach Didier Deschamps said that Payet's injury has thrown his plans into disarray.

One week ahead of the World Cup's opening ceremony, Argentinean midfielder Manuel Lanzini ruptured a ligament in his knee during training. Meanwhile Argentina's archrivals Brazil will have to make do without marauding full-back Dani Alves, who picked up a knee injury during the Coupe de France final and will instead spend the summer recovering ahead of Paris Saint-Germain's 2018-19 campaign.

For the senior football fans, Francesc Fabregas, Karim Benzema and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's World Cup absences might take some of the shine off the tournament. Ibrahimovic said "it wouldn't be a World Cup" if he didn't play but the announcement of Sweden's 23-man squad dashed the faint hopes of fans expecting to see Ibrahimovic at Russia 2018.

For many, these absences will be a disappointing footnote to all the great action on the field, but we can be sure that the 2018 World Cup will no doubt crown new stars for tomorrow.

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