Best XI Who WON’T Be Playing at the 2026 World Cup

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.

LB: Milos Kerkez

Milos Kerkez has had no shortage of critics this season, thanks to his lacklustre displays for Liverpool in the Premier League – sadly, his international performances for Hungary weren’t much better.

Hungary were knocked out of qualification after they were beaten in a dramatic 3-2 defeat against the Republic of Ireland – Kerekz registered an assist in that game, but it wasn’t enough.

RM: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia

As far as we’re concerned, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is amongst the best players in world football today – it’s a crying shame that his talents won’t be gracing the 2026 World Cup.

It was always going to be a tough ask for Georgia to qualify, given the lack of quality depth in their squad. Ultimately, they finished in a distant third place in their group, ten points behind second-placed Turkey.

CM: Sandro Tonali

Sandro Tonali is amongst the best and most coveted midfielders in the world at the moment – unfortunately, despite being touted with an exit from Newcastle United, the Italian international won’t be putting himself in the shop window at the World Cup.

A classy midfielder with plenty of quality and defensive acumen, it’s unclear what the future holds for the former AC Milan star.

CM: Dominik Szoboszlai

Dominik Szoboszlai has been amongst Liverpool’s best players this season, despite being in the midst of a largely disappointing campaign. Not have Szoboszlai’s teammates struggled at club level, he also failed to reach the World Cup with Hungary.

A star player for his country, Szoboszlai has 63 caps and 17 goals to his name for Hungary, despite only being 25 years old.

LM: Bryan Mbeumo

A talented, adaptable attacking player, Bryan Mbeumo is at the heart of turmoil wherever he goes at the moment. Whether it be at Manchester United or for Cameroon on the international stage, there is little in the way of stability.

Unfortunately, such unrest cost Cameroon their spot at the World Cup. Despite finishing second in their qualifying group, they were beaten by DR Congo in the playoff semi-finals.

ST: Victor Osimhen

One of the best strikers in the world at the moment, Nigeria’s disastrous qualification campaign meant that Victor Osimhen would not be playing at the 2026 World Cup.

Like Mbeumo, his country were also knocked out by DR Congo in the playoffs – at least they’ll have something to talk about if they meet up during the summer.

ST: Robert Lewandowski

This was heartbreaking – at 37 years of age, Robert Lewandowski will likely never get another shot at a World Cup. In a cruel twist of fate, his final gambit was snuffed out after Sweden scored a late goal against his beloved Poland to send them crashing out.

Lewandowski has been one of the greatest strikers of all time and one of the best players in the modern era. One more World Cup campaign could have been magical, but it wasn’t to be.