The 10 best players who won't be at World Cup 2026

World Cup 2026 will be the biggest yet in just about every way that can be measured.

48 teams will play 104 World Cup 2026 matches across three countries, multiple time zones and 16 venues. Quite simply, it's vast. Yet there's not room for everyone, and not just because of where it's being hosted.

Some major football nations failed to make the grade and a handful of top-class talents will not participate as a result. It's a little salt to offset the sweet – here are 10 of the best players we won't be seeing in the summer.

1. Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)

Italy have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row, losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their UEFA play-off final.

Azzurri captain and Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma will be 31 when the 2030 edition comes around and is yet to play a World Cup finals match.

Being a European champion at club level but never playing in the World Cup isn't unusual. Winning the European Championship as well and still never playing in the World Cup is less common. Doing one and not the other with Italy is downright weird.

2. Benjamin Sesko (Slovenia)

Slovenia were miles off even a play-off spot in their qualifying group and left themselves without the Nations League safety net that took an even worse Sweden team to the World Cup.

Consequently, World Cup 2026 will have to exist without the always entertaining Benjamin Sesko.

The 22-year-old striker is starting to live up to his promise at Manchester United under interim head coach Michael Carrick and is holding on to his status as one of Europe's most promising young strikers.

3. Harry Wilson (Wales)

Wales and Fulham star Harry Wilson is enjoying the season of his life in the Premier League. Cottagers boss Marco Silva has unlocked his attacking abilities as he matures, and Wilson is one of the most in-form players in England's top division.

Wilson misses out on a World Cup place due to Wales' home defeat at the hands of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who won on penalties in Cardiff to end Craig Bellamy's hopes of leading his nation back to what would have been back-to-back World Cup tournaments for the first time in their history.

4. Illia Zabarnyi (Ukraine)

Ukraine were eliminated at the same stage as Wales, losing to Sweden in a World Cup play-off in Valencia. Ukraine haven't qualified for the World Cup since 2006, so there's no finals debut for Paris Saint-Germain defender Illia Zabarnyi.

The 23-year-old moved to the French capital after two impressive seasons in the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth, signing for PSG last summer. The imposing centre-back is one of the defenders to watch in Europe but won't be in action in North America in June and July.

5. Ademola Lookman (Nigeria)

Former Premier League player Ademola Lookman is no stranger to performing in big matches but the Atletico Madrid star won't be on display at World Cup 2026.

Nigeria finished second to Senegal in their qualifying group, which meant a play-off semi-final against Gabon in November. The Super Eagles won 4-1 after extra time but were beaten on penalties by DR Congo with an inter-confederation play-off on the line.

London-born Lookman declared for Nigeria and made his debut in 2022, nearly four years after their last World Cup finals appearance.

6. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was one of the most eye-catching players at the European Championship in 2024 and went on to sign for PSG and lead them to the Champions League triumph they so craved.

Even a 48-team World Cup with a Nations League back door proved too tricky for Georgia, who won just one of their qualifiers in a group they shared with Spain, Turkiye and Bulgaria. The former Soviet state has been eligible for every World Cup since 1998 but is yet to secure a finals place.

7. Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary)

2025-26 hasn't been Liverpool's season – at least not yet – but the form of Dominik Szoboszlai has been a highlight.

Regarded as one of the Reds' best players and perhaps their most important without the ball, the Hungary captain has scored some of the most spectacular goals in the Premier League this season.

Hungary's World Cup campaign was a bust, however. They were beaten at home by the Republic of Ireland in the last qualifier, missing out on a play-off spot thanks to Troy Parrott's hat-trick in Budapest.

8. Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

Poland qualified for the last two 32-team World Cup competitions but couldn't get the job done in 2026, finishing second to the Netherlands before beating Albania but losing to Sweden in the play-offs.

That probably means the end of the World Cup story for Robert Lewandowski, one of the greatest strikers of the modern era.

Poland's captain is 37 years old and just two of his 89 international goals to date were scored at the World Cup finals.

9. Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia)

Dusan Vlahovic might not be in the best form of his young career and the imposing striker would certainly like to have had more of an impact for Juventus both this season and in general, but his ability isn't in doubt.

Now 25, has scored 16 goals in 41 senior international appearances but injuries have slowed his emergence from the shadow of Serbia captain Aleksandr Mitrovic.

Serbia finished third in their qualifying group behind England and Albania, failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014.

10. Mikkel Damsgaard (Denmark)

Mikkel Damsgaard has found his feet in the Premier League and is now vital to Brentford in the same inventive and impactful way he has been for Denmark for years.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder is just coming into his prime and the World Cup would have been the perfect stage for his abilities, but Denmark's hopes were quashed at the very last moment.

After dramatically surrendering top spot to Scotland in their qualifying group, Denmark thrashed North Macedonia in the play-offs but succumbed on penalties to Czechia at the end of a tense play-off final in Prague.