The best teams you won't see at the 2026 World Cup

After the 2022 World Cup had 32 teams, the 2026 World Cup has 48. However, there were still some World Cup stalwarts that missed out despite the tournament’s expansion.

Here’s a look at the best teams you won’t see playing in this summer’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. And that list is topped by a perennial power that is going through an unprecedented period of malaise.

It’s almost unfathomable that the 2026 World Cup is the third straight tournament without the Italians.

A nation that has four World Cups to its name and one just 20 years ago has not made the World Cup since 2014. The perennial contenders have absolutely cratered. It wasn’t that long ago that Italy entered every World Cup with a plausible path to the title. Instead, the Italians’ unsolvable equation has simply become about how to qualify.

Italy missed out on this World Cup thanks to a dreadful performance in Bosnia and Herzegovina during one of the UEFA finals to make the tournament. After finishing a distant second to Norway in Group I of World Cup qualifying, Italy was sent to the playoffs, where it had to win two games to make the newly expanded World Cup.

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The Italians were drawn into a four-team bracket with Wales, Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina, who won the right to host the final with a win over Wales. The Bosnians beat the Welsh in penalty kicks, while Italy eased past Northern Ireland 2-0.

Everything fell apart in the playoff final, however. Moise Kean put Italy up 1-0 in the 15th minute, but Alessandro Bastoni was given a straight red card in the 41st minute for a desperate tackle. With Italy down to 10 men for the rest of the match, a Bosnian equalizer was inevitable. It finally happened in the 79th minute before the game went to penalties. There, the Italians scored just once, before Bosnia closed it out in the fourth round of kicks.

Gianluigi Donnarumma of Italy reacts after the Italians were eliminated from the 2026 World Cup qualifications in penalty kicks vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina.

(Image Photo Agency via Getty Images)

Poland

The 2026 World Cup could have been star striker Robert Lewandowski’s final moment on the world stage. Instead, like Italy, Poland went out in the UEFA playoffs.

Poland had qualified for each of the past two World Cups and made the Round of 16 in 2022 after finishing second in Group C to Argentina. But the Polish finished three points behind the Netherlands in Group G of UEFA’s qualifying.

That sent Poland into a four-team bracket with Ukraine, Sweden and Albania. After beating Albania 2-1, Poland played Sweden for the chance to make the World Cup. But Sweden, which had just two ties in eight World Cup qualifying games and made the playoffs thanks to its Nations League performance, won the final 3-2 to make the World Cup.

Lewandowski, 37, made it seem like his future with the Polish team was over after the loss to Sweden. He hasn’t officially said he’s done, but it’s hard to see how he will be around for the 2030 World Cup if Poland qualifies.

The greatest player in Poland history, Lewandowski has 89 goals in 166 appearances for his country. And the next chapter of his professional career could come in the United States. Lewandowski joined Barcelona from Bayern Munich after the 2021-22 season and is not returning to the La Liga champions. Chicago Fire coach Gregg Berhalter has said he wants Lewandowski on his team. Will that happen after the World Cup?

One of CONCACAF’s World Cup stalwarts will be conspicuously absent this summer. Costa Rica has qualified for six World Cups in the past 36 years but failed to qualify for 2026. The 2022 World Cup was the fifth time Costa Rica had qualified over the last six World Cup cycles.

Twelve years ago, Costa Rica shocked the world by winning the Group of Death in Brazil, which also included Uruguay, Italy and England. The Costa Ricans beat both Uruguay and Italy and tied with England to top the group with seven points.

After making both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Costa Rica’s hopes of a fourth-straight appearance disappeared during qualifying. Grouped with Haiti, Honduras and Nicaragua, Costa Rica got seven points across six games. A 1-0 loss to the Haitians was the team’s undoing, as the opposite result would have won the group for Costa Rica and prevented Haiti from making the World Cup.

Yet another UEFA team that went out in the playoffs made this list. The Danes made their first World Cup appearance in 1986 and appeared in five since missing the 1990 and 1994 tournaments.

In 2020, Denmark finished third in the Euros after finishing second in Group B to Belgium and making the knockout rounds on goal differential over Finland and Russia. Two years later, Denmark was eliminated from the World Cup in the group stage before being eliminated in the Round of 16 in Euro 2024.

Penalty kicks kept the Danes out of the 2026 World Cup. Denmark was the favorite in Path D of UEFA’s playoffs and had an easy 4-0 win over North Macedonia in the semifinals. However. Denmark tied Czechia 2-2 in the final and lost 3-1 on penalties to miss out on the World Cup.

One of the modern African World Cup stalwarts will be conspicuously absent in the United States.

Nigeria had made each of the past three World Cups and six of the last seven tournaments before failing to qualify in 2026. Nigeria was drawn into Pot C in the CAF qualifiers but also had South Africa and Benin in its group. South Africa scored 18 points over 10 games, while both Nigeria and Benin had 17.

Nigeria made it to the second round of qualifying thanks to a plus-7 goal differential. After a 4-1 win in extra time over Gabon, Nigeria met DR Congo for the chance to advance to the inter-confederation playoffs for the World Cup.

Like so many others on this list, penalty kicks were the Nigerians’ demise. The teams tied 1-1 after 120 minutes and DR Congo won 4-3 on penalty kicks.

Cameroon

The African nation with the most World Cup appearances won’t be in the 2026 World Cup.

Cameroon has made eight World Cups and first qualified in 1982 as an independent nation. But the Indomitable Lions are missing just their third World Cup since 1986.

Cameroon finished second in Group D of CAF’s qualifying to Cape Verde. It wasn’t all that close, either. Cape Verde won the group by four points despite Cameroon’s better goal differential. That forced Cameroon to the African playoffs, where the DR Congo took out the Cameroonians. An added-time goal by center back Chancel Mbemba gave DR Congo a 1-0 win and eliminated Cameroon from World Cup contention.

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