Ranked! The 10 best players who won't be going to the World Cup

Erling Haaland
(Image credit: Getty)

At the World Cup in 2026, over 1,100 players could be on separate planes, ready to represent their nations.

That'll be when the tournament expands to accommodate 48 nations. For now, we're still on 32, which means that every four years, there will be some big names who miss out on the competition. 

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Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.