BERLIN - The following players would stand a good chance of making a World Cup all-star team: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon; defenders Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli, Sokratis and David Alaba; midfielders Arturo Vidal, Arjen Robben and Arda Turan; and forwards Gareth Bale, Christian Pulisic and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
The subs bench would also look decent with the likes of Alexis Sanchez, Andriy Yarmolenko and Edin Dzeko. But none of the players, worth a collective hundreds of millions of dollars, will feature in this list because their respective nations failed to qualify for next year's finals in Russia.
Buffon, who turns 40 in January, is arguably the most famous absentee as he misses a record sixth appearance at the global stage after his Italians went out in a play-off against Sweden.
The iconic Juventus goalkeeper won the World Cup in 2006 and reached the Euro 2012 final. He has now ended his glittering international career spanning two decades and 175 caps.
"It's a shame my last official game coincided with the failure to qualify for the World Cup," a tearful Buffon said.
Team-mates Barzagli and Chiellini also won't be in Russia while Sokratis failed to qualify with Greece, Alaba with Austria and Turan with Turkey.
Like Italians Buffon, Barzagli and Chiellini, Robben quit the Dutch team after they went out for the second straight time after Euro 2016, after coming second at the World Cup in 2010 and third in 2014.
"I'm 33 years old now. I'm playing at a top club in Europe and I want to concentrate on it now. It's also a good time to hand over the baton," the Bayern Munich winger said.
Vidal (and Sanchez) meanwhile bowed out with the two-time reigning Copa America champions Chile in a tough South American campaign which almost also saw superstar Lionel Messi miss out with Argentina.
The tournament in Russia will lack the flair and goals of Borussia Dortmund forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as well as his Gabon team went out in Africa; and Bale's Wales were unable to retain the form that had led them into the Euro 2016 semi-finals.
At 19, Pulisic is the youngster in this all-star team and will hope to make it to future editions - possibly even a home tournament in 2026 - after failing to qualify with the United States.
"Playing for the US in the World Cup has been my dream ever since I can remember. World Cup Final, minute to go, ball on Pulisic's foot, and he scoooores! - that's what I would dream about," Pulisic said recently in the Players' Tribune.