10 superstars at risk of missing Qatar World Cup including Cristiano Ronaldo

It has been an eventful week of World Cup qualification across the world as next year's finals in Qatar begin to take shape.

Germany, Denmark, Brazil, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Argentina and the Netherlands have all joined hosts Qatar in the competition.

Despite the hosts of star names set to feature in the Middle East, Erling Haaland 's Norway will not be involved while Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak will also miss out after the eliminations of Gabon and Slovenia respectively.

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita (Guinea), Crystal Palace winger Wilfriend Zaha (Ivory Coast) and Inter defender Milan Skriniar (Slovakia) are others who have seen their World Cup dreams dashed.

And there are a plethora of others whose hopes of participating in Qatar hang in the balance.

We have selected 10 stars whose place in the finals remains undecided and who could easily miss out on football's showpiece event.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Having broken the international goalscoring record earlier this year - with 115 goals for Portugal to his name - Ronaldo may miss out on the finals.

Leading a star-studded squad which includes Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix, Diogo Jota, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias, they would arguably be the highest-profile group of players to miss out on the tournament.

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Boss Fernando Santos is under pressure after his side fell to a final day loss at home to Serbia in Lisbon, meaning his side will have to rely on winning both playoff matches in March to qualify.

Jorginho

The Chelsea midfielder is one of the favourites to land the Ballon d'Or award but his personal fortunes have taken a hit recently.

Jorginho missed the decisive penalty against Switzerland in the penultimate matchday in their qualification group, meaning Italy did not win that match and their final draw in Belfast against Northern Ireland meant they had to be content with a playoff spot.

The European champions have won just two of six matches since lifting the Euro trophy at Wembley, meaning that the likes of Jorginho, Marco Verratti, Federico Chiesa, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci may sensationally miss their second World Cup in a row.

Mohamed Salah

Egypt topped their World Cup qualification group including Gabon, Libya and Angola, meaning they will now be guaranteed a playoff spot against one of their nine other group winners.

Mohamed Salah is the highest profile African player but will be aware that his squad still have one huge test ahead of them, with all five playoffs - which have yet to be drawn - set to be finely balanced.

17 of their squad is home based, but it does also include Arsenal midfielder Mohamed Elneny.

Sadio Mane

Another of Liverpool's fearsome attacking stars is also facing the prospect of a qualification playoff.

Sadio Mane's Senegal have a higher pedigree than most African nations, topping their group including Togo, Namibia and Congo.

There are high-profile stars throughout the Senegal squad including Chelsea shot-stopper Edouard Mendy, Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye.

Will Mane and Salah both be able to lead their nations to successive World Cup appearances?

Gareth Bale

Real Madrid forward Bale has arguably more synonymous with his nation than his club side in recent years but he has never appeared at a World Cup.

Bale won his 100 th international cap in last week's 5-1 win over Belarus and despite suffering multiple fitness setbacks this season, will be aiming to regain fitness for the playoffs in March.

The former Tottenham star is the talisman and inspiration for Wales, who have only ever qualified for the finals once - in 1958.

David Alaba

Austria have not qualified for the World Cup finals since 1998 and are somewhat fortunate to be involved in the playoffs this time round, due to their Nations League performance.

The central European nation finished fourth in their qualification campaign - behind Denmark, Scotland and Israel - and are likely to be outsiders in the playoffs.

Alaba is undoubtedly their star man, having joined Real Madrid from Bayern Munich this summer as a free agent and netting a stunner in his first ever El Clasico - a 2-1 win at Barcelona last month.

Robert Lewandowski

Many people's favourite to win this year's Ballon d'Or title, Robert Lewandowski may miss out on a World Cup appearance.

The Bayern Munich striker has been unable to elevate his nation to further heights in recent years, with disappointing group stage exits in the 2018 World Cup and this summer's Euros.

They ranked behind England in qualifying this time round - with Lewandowski hoping to add to his 74 international goals to fire the nation to next year's tournament.

Luis Suarez

Uruguay have been regulars at the World Cup over the last three editions but are in danger of missing out this time round.

Led by veteran strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, they also have Fede Valverde of Real Madrid and Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo among their most important players.

Uruguay reached the last four in 2010 and have been a regular in the knockout stages since.

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Yet Uruguay have won just four of their 14 qualifiers and sit in seventh spot in the 10-team South American qualifying group but are just one point off fifth - which would clinch qualification.

Defeats to Argentina and Bolivia this week were damaging, but they still have five games to save their campaign.

If they can get Suarez and Cavani fit and firing, they will still back themselves.

Alexis Sanchez

Chile are another nation whose star players are now ageing and facing the possibility of missing out on a final World Cup swansong.

Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel and Claudio Bravo - pivotal in the nation's 2015 and 2016 Copa America titles and 2014 World Cup run - are all still prominent members in the squad.

They have slipped behind Peru and Colombia into sixth spot in the qualification rankings, and are currently on course to just miss out on qualification.

Victor Lindelof

Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof made a shocking error for Georgia's second goal in Tblisi last week, which condemned Sweden to a shock two-goal loss.

A valiant display in Spain on Sunday ended in defeat, meaning that the Scandinavian nation had thrown away an automatic qualification spot and have to settle for a playoff pace.

Veteran striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and upcoming star striker Alexander Isak look set to play a pivotal role in the playoffs.