The 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup are now set in stone. As such, a few nations had to miss out – some of them playing host to some genuinely world class players.
Players from teams such as Poland, Nigeria and Italy will not be featuring at this year’s World Cup – as such, we put together an XI of the best players who missed out on the tournament. Do you agree with our picks?
GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma
Gianluigi Donnarumma might be the best goalkeeper in the world – nevertheless, after a penalty shoot-out against Bosnia & Herzegovina in which he failed to save a single spot kick, he won’t be featuring at the World Cup this year.
The Manchester City man certainly isn’t the only Italian player to feature in this XI – we’ll see more from them soon enough.
RB: Matty Cash
Aston Villa’s Matty Cash was born in Slough, but has 25 caps under his belt for Poland – he qualified for international inclusion through his mother. Nevertheless, he couldn’t do much to help them reach the World Cup.
A late goal for Sweden from Viktor Gyokeres broke Polish hearts in a 3-2 thriller. It was a hugely entertaining game – it’s a massive shame that either team had to miss out.
CB: Strahinja Pavlović
Strahinja Pavlovic is amongst the best young defenders in the world – he’ll get another chance at the World Cup, being just 24 years of age, but he won’t be featuring at this year’s iteration of the tournament.
He already has a startling 54 caps for Serbia – nevertheless, they finished third in their group, losing three of their last six qualification games.
CB: Riccardo Calafiori
Riccardo Calafiori looks set to win the Premier League title with Arsenal at the end of the season, barring a major nosedive in form – this should soften the blow of him failing to qualify for the World Cup with Italy.
Italy have now failed to qualify for three World Cups in a row – this is unprecedented for a team who have previously won the competition.