Best XI of players missing the 2026 World Cup after failing to qualify

Last update at 2 June, 2026⏲️ Reading time: 3 minutes

World-class stars left out of the 2026 World Cup

Even with the tournament expanding to 48 teams, there are some teams which missed out on the tournament, forcing world-class players to watch from home this summer

The expanded World Cup format was supposed to reduce the number of major stars left behind, but strong footballing countries still failed to reach the 2026 World Cup, meaning some of the game’s biggest names will miss the tournament entirely.

Italy‘s absence remains the headline story after the four-time world champions failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup, but they are far from alone, as nations such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Wales, Denmark, Poland and Serbia also fell short.

GK: Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)

Donnarumma is arguably the best in the world in his position, but the Manchester City goalkeeper was unable to be decisive in the playoff penalty shootout against Bosnia and Herzegovina, as Italy miss out on yet another major tournament.

RB: Georgios Vagiannidis (Greece)

One of the most exciting talents in a Greece side packed with young quality. Yet, the Greek national team paid for their lack of experienced and missed out on the upcoming World Cup.

CB: Alessandro Bastoni (Italy)

Italy’s latest qualification failure means one of the world’s elite centre-backs misses the World Cup during his prime years. Bastoni has become a leader for both club and country and would walk into many of the squads heading to North America.

CB: Milan Skriniar (Slovakia)

Slovakia failed to qualify despite another strong campaign from the experienced defender, who remains one of Europe’s most solid centre-backs.

LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (Ukraine)

Zinchenko’s versatility and technical quality would have made him one of the standout full-backs at the tournament, but Ukraine fell short in the playoff semi-final against Sweden.

CM: Stanislav Lobotka (Slovakia)

Lobotka continues operating at an elite level and remains one of Europe’s best tempo-setters. Slovakia’s failure means the World Cup loses one of the game’s most intelligent midfielders.

CM: Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary)

The midfielder was Liverpool’s player of the season, but as Hungary suffered last-second heartbreak in the final qualifying group match against Ireland, Szoboszlai will be unable to broadcast his supreme talent on the biggest stage of all.

RM: Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon)

The Manchester United winger has enjoyed an impressive first season at Old Trafford since moving from Brentford last summer, but that form did not translate to international level and the winger was unable to help Cameroon to the World Cup.

LM: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)

Georgia narrowly missed out on building upon their Euro 2024 breakthrough, meaning that Kvaratskhelia will not have the opportunity to shine again this summer after leading Paris Saint-Germain to back-to-back Champions League titles.

CF: Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)

Osimhen is one of the most feared centre-forwards in football. Authentic no.9s are seen as a dying breed in the modern game, and the Nigerian is one of them, but he will not be able to show his quality on the global stage after the Super Eagles’ shock failure.

CF: Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

One of the most prolific scorers in football history, Lewandowski misses out on the opportunity to participate in what would have been his last World Cup competition, following a painful playoff defeat to Sweden.

The World Cup 2026 absent XI (4-4-2)