The biggest stars who have failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, including Gigi Donnarumma, Robert Lewandowski and Victor Osimhen We are now just over a week out from the 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with all 48 teams making their way to North America with dreams of glory driving them. All of the pre-qualifying favourites made it safely through, including Spain, Brazil, England, France and defending champions Argentina.
Donnarumma, Lewandowski, and Osimhen: Why They're Missing
The tournament is expected to be the last dance for Lionel Messi, while the likes of Lamine Yamal, Vinicius Jr, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe will all be out to try and upstage the Albiceleste icon. Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo is set to match Messi in featuring at a record sixth World Cup when he leads out Portugal again, Harry Kane will carry England's hopes under Thomas Tuchel and Erling Haaland will step onto international football's grandest stage for the first time with dark horses Norway. But for some, the journey is already over after qualifying claimed its fair share of notable scalps.
GOAL runs through the biggest superstars who definitely won't be lighting up North America next summer: For the third-straight World Cup, Italy have failed to qualify. Since triumphing at the 2006 tournament, the Azzurri have won just one match at the tournament (against England in 2014) and will now be forced to watch on from home yet again following March's penalty shootout loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A whole generation of Italian players, including Sandro Tonali, Nicolo Barella and Alessandro Bastoni, are thus still waiting to make their mark on a global tournament, though perhaps the most famous of their number is goalkeeper Gigi Donnarumma. The reigning Yashin Trophy winner and Euro 2020 Player of the Tournament is regarded as one of the finest 'keepers of his generation, but the man who wowed fans when he made his AC Milan debut as a 16-year-old will now be into his 30s by the time he next gets a chance to qualify for his first World Cup. Italy's failures should not be laid at Donnarumma's door, of course, but as one of the national team's leading lights, the Manchester City shot-stopper will have to stand tall and ensure he remains at the top level for another four years if the four-time champions are to finally make it back to the World Cup in 2030.
One of the greatest marksmen of the 21st century, Robert Lewandowski will not get the chance to improve on his World Cup finals record of two goals in seven games this summer after Poland came up short in the UEFA play-offs, losing 3-2 to Sweden in March. That defeat could yet bring the curtain down on Lewandowski's international career, too, as the 37-year-old hinted at retirement in the immediate aftermath. Lewandowski's powers have been on the wane for a couple of years now, and it he could leave European club football behind this summer after being released by Barcelona.
Still, he would have hoped to enjoy one last tournament appearance before entering the real twilight years of his illustrious career. Georgia were one of the surprise packages at Euro 2024, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was the driving force behind their run to the last 16 with his dizzying runs and relentless work rate.
But the Paris Saint-Germain winger won't be strutting his stuff on the grandest stage of all next summer.
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Kvaratskhelia did score twice in World Cup qualifying, including in a 3-0 win over Bulgaria, but Georgia lost four of their remaining five fixtures and finished a distant third behind Spain and Turkey in Group E. A chastening 4-1 defeat away to Turkey marked the lowest point, and head coach Willy Sagnol has had to go back to the drawing board to lift his confidence-stricken squad, which simply doesn't contain any other players who can come close to matching Kvaratskhelia's level. Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting
Nigeria will miss out on successive World Cups after suffering a shock African final play-off defeat to DR Congo. The Super Eagles were hot favourites to make it through to a final intercontinental play-off in March after seeing off Gabon, but DR Congo shattered their dreams after a gruelling contest that was ultimately decided on penalties. The two teams played out a 1-1 draw in normal time, and Nigeria's attacking threat evaporated after Osimhen was withdrawn at the interval with a leg issue.
DR Congo were unfortunate not to find a second goal, but luck shone on them in the shootout as they earned a 4-3 victory. The absence of Osimhen will be an especially great shame when the World Cup kicks off, given the Galatasaray star is among the best strikers in the business. He scored eight goals in qualifying, but the rest of the Nigeria squad did not match his high standards.
It never should have come to this for what is undoubtedly a Nigerian golden generation. The likes of Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze, Calvin Bassey and Wilfred Ndidi all disappointed, and while things might have been different had Osimhen not missed three games due to injury, Nigeria have become far too reliant on the former Napoli man. He will be 30 by the time the next World Cup rolls around, which means his prime years will have gone to waste from a global perspective.
For the first time since Euro 2016, Denmark have failed to qualify for a major tournament as they were beaten on penalties by Czechia in the UEFA play-offs. They had been just minutes away from booking their spot back in November before conceding two late goals to Scotland, and they were made to pay in the most heart-breaking of circumstances four months later in Prague. But after belatedly earning a move to Wolfsburg and impressing in the Bundesliga, he earned a recall for the play-offs, sparking hope of the 34-year-old playing at one more World Cup.
It was not to be, however, with it now increasingly unlikely that fans will ever see the ex-Tottenham schemer playing at the very highest level again. Christian Eriksen missed that Scotland game after falling out of favour in the aftermath of his departure from Manchester United.
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Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one of the finest strikers of his generation to never play at the World Cup, and after Gabon's latest qualification failure, it's safe to say that the 36-year-old will retire without ticking that box. Gabon booked a spot in the CAF play-offs after finishing second in their group, just one point behind Cote d'Ivoire, and Aubameyang contributed seven goals to their cause, including a superb quadruple haul in a thrilling 4-3 victory away at Gambia. The former Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund star, who is now enjoying a second spell with Marseille at club level, led the line again in Gabon's blockbuster semi-final tie against Nigeria.
Gabon fought hard to force extra-time, with Mario Lemina equalising in the 89th minute, but that appeared to zap all their energy, and Nigeria eventually emerged as 4-1 winners, with Osimhen grabbing a brace. Gabon's search for a maiden World Cup appearance goes on, and their chances will surely only dwindle once they lose Aubameyang's services. Bryan Mbeumo was born in central France and represented Les Bleus at Under-21 level, but in 2022, he switched allegiance to Cameroon, the land of his father.
Three years on, there may be part of him that regrets that decision. Cameroon were embarrassingly beaten to automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup by minnows Cape Verde, and were subsequently pitted against DR Congo in the CAF play-offs. Mbeumo played the full 90 minutes, alongside Manchester United colleague Andre Onana and Brighton's Carlos Baleba, but DR Congo won the contest 1-0, courtesy of a stoppage-time winner from Chancel Mbemba.
Mbeumo, who has only scored seven goals in 32 games for Cameroon to date, was guilty of missing a clear chance in the second half, and went viral for storming down the tunnel after the final whistle. The Indomitable Lions have played at more World Cups than any other African nation (eight), but the current team doesn't hold a candle to those from the past. Turmoil away from the pitch has continually detracted from any progress in recent years, and the path forward looks anything but clear.
Serbia have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014, and this failure will no doubt sting more than most. Head coach Dragan Stojkovic resigned after a dismal 1-0 home defeat to Albania in October, and Serbia were officially eliminated from the process after a 2-0 defeat to England at Wembley a month later.
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