“I’ve got to earn my spot…” – Former Premier League star says no to last-minute World Cup invite
A former Premier League star has turned down the chance to play in the 2026 World Cup because he feels he doesn’t deserve it.
Most of the 48 countries competing in the tournament have announced their final 26-man squads, including big teams like England, Germany, Brazil, and France.
Some teams are doing things a bit differently. For example, Morocco called up 28 players for a pre-World Cup training camp before choosing their final squad.
One player in that group is midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who switched from playing for France to Morocco so he could take part in the World Cup.
He’s not the only one changing countries before the tournament. Midfielder Jorthy Mokio chose to play for DR Congo instead of Belgium. But since he played for Belgium earlier this year, he can’t play for DR Congo until 2028 according to FIFA rules.
Meanwhile, former Crystal Palace and Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard was asked to play for Haiti in the World Cup.
The 28-year-old scored 18 Premier League goals while at Selhurst Park and played for France’s youth teams. But he qualifies for Haiti through his parents, who are Haitian.
Haiti is playing in the World Cup for only the second time ever and first time in 52 years. They’re in Group C with Brazil, Morocco, and Scotland.
However, Edouard decided not to play for Haiti. He said he didn’t feel it was right since he hadn’t been part of their qualifying journey and didn’t want to take the spot of a player who had worked hard to get there.
He said, “I didn’t feel right playing in this World Cup because the players fought to qualify, and I wasn’t going to just show up at the last minute to take advantage of this chance. If I play, I want to earn it.”
Edouard did have a chance to make France’s squad after scoring 12 goals in 28 Ligue 1 games this season with Lens.
Lens was top of the league in February and had a great run, but they slipped towards the end and ended six points behind champions PSG. Still, they won the Coupe de France, with Edouard scoring in the final as Lens beat Nice 3-1.
As for Haiti, they’re expected to finish last in their group but have some talented players, like Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor, and defender Hannes Delcroix, who played in the Premier League with Burnley under Vincent Kompany.