With the last international break of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign now behind us, some of the Premier League’s top players have cemented their spot at the tournament. Consequently, however, some have to miss out.
Today, we’ll be looking at an XI of the best Premier League players whose countries have failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. It features stars from teams such as Liverpool, Fulham and Manchester United – can you guess who they are?
GK: Giorgi Mamardashvili
Giorgi Mamardashvili failed to qualify with Georgia, as they finished third in their respective group. Mamardashvili has deputised for Alisson and Liverpool recently, with mixed results – at just 25 years of age, he will get several more chances to feature at a World Cup.
RB: Jackson Tchatchoua
Here is a name that may not be familiar to you – Jackson Tchatchoua was snapped up in the summer by Wolves and is one of the quickest players in the Premier League. A Cameroonian international, he missed out on qualification thanks to a late winning goal from DR Congo.
CB: Nikola Milenkovic
Nottingham Forest’s Nikola Milenkovic will be disappointed to have missed out on the World Cup, as his native Serbia finished just a single point behind Albania. Last season was a breakout year for the towering centre-back, though his fortunes have been mixed in the current campaign.
CB: Calvin Bassey
Calvin Bassey is another defender who has struggled this season, often being caught out in possession due to his limited technical ability. Nigeria surprisingly missed out on the World Cup, despite being one of the strongest African teams on paper, as they finished behind South Africa in their group.
LB: Milos Kerkez
Milos Kerkez’s start to life at Liverpool, to put it lightly, has been turbulent. His fortunes have shown no signs of an upturn on the international stage, as Hungary were dumped out of qualification thanks to a last-minute winner from the Republic of Ireland in their final group game.
CM: Dominik Szoboszlai
Dominik Szoboszlai might be the most talented player in our list and will be one of the biggest misses at the World Cup. Like Kerkez, he only lost out on qualification thanks to a winning goal in added time – a huge sickener for one of Liverpool’s most consistent talents.
CM: Carlos Baleba
Carlos Baleba was targeted by a slew of top clubs in the summer, but ultimately remained in place at Brighton. He won’t get a chance to impress scouts at the World Cup, as Cameroon failed to qualify for the competition.
RW: Samuel Chukwueze
Technically, we’re cheating a bit here – Samuel Chukuweze plays for Fulham, but he is only on loan from AC Milan. He is one of several Nigerian players in this XI who won’t be at the World Cup, following their lacklustre qualification campaign that saw them win just four of their ten group games.
AM: Alex Iwobi
The last Nigerian on our list, Alex Iwobi has been playing for the Super Eagles. He has played at a World Cup before – he was part of Nigeria’s squad at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where they bombed out in the group stage.
LW: Bryan Mbeumo
Bryan Mbeumo has been an inspired signing for Manchester United, but he could not avoid missing out on the World Cup with Cameroon. He made three appearances for them at the previous World Cup, only for the Indomitable Lions to be eliminated in the group stage.
ST: Alexander Isak
Another Liverpool player, Alexander Isak’s Sweden had a torrid qualifying campaign. They failed to win a single game in their group, finishing with two points from a possible 18 and finishing rock bottom of their group.