From Salah to Modric: Stars without international titles

Despite their illustrious club careers, several world-class players have never won an international title with their national teams, a feat considered one of the most difficult achievements in any player's career. Sports analyst Jamie Carragher recently brought up the issue of Mohamed Salah's lack of an international trophy, asserting that he is the greatest player Egypt has ever seen, yet he has not won the Africa Cup of Nations despite the national team's long history in the tournament. Salah led the Egyptian national team to the final twice, but lost in both 2017 and 2021. With the upcoming edition approaching, he has another opportunity to prove himself and finally achieve the long-awaited title, especially with Egypt ranked as the second strongest contender after Morocco . Wayne Rooney, on the other hand, was part of England's golden generation, but he never progressed beyond the quarter-finals in any World Cup or European Championship tournament throughout his international career. Rooney explained that he always felt the responsibility for winning or losing rested on his shoulders, regardless of whether the team won the tournament or not, due to his personal performance . Belgian duo Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne top the list of players who have yet to win an international title, despite being among the most prominent Belgian football stars of the past decade. Despite boasting strong and talented squads in recent tournaments, Belgium has never progressed beyond the semi-finals. Their closest achievement was at the 2018 World Cup, where they lost to eventual champions France . Croatian Luka Modric, winner of the Ballon d'Or in 2018, has also failed to secure a title with his national team, despite his outstanding performances. He lost the 2018 World Cup final and finished third in 2022 after a semi-final defeat to Argentina . Similarly, Frenchman Franck Ribéry, too young to be part of the French team that won Euro 2000 and too old to be part of the 2018 World Cup-winning squad, came close to international glory in 2006 before losing the World Cup final to Italy on penalties . For Italian Paolo Maldini, it's still hard to believe he never won an international title with Italy, having lost the 1994 World Cup final to Brazil and the 2000 European Championship final to France. While still a player in 2006 when Italy won the World Cup, he had already retired from international football. Maldini told Football Italia, "I turned down the call-up in 2006 and they won the title. Perhaps it was fate ." These players serve as examples that club success doesn't always guarantee glory with national teams, and that winning international trophies remains one of the toughest challenges facing footballers worldwide.