The full list of World Cup 2026 teams was finalised on Tuesday, with Iraq and DR Congo being the last teams to qualify, and with the elimination of Italy which caused an earthquake in the Italian press and world of football as a whole. This summer's will be the largest World Cup ever, with 48 teams, including some very unusual like Haiti, Curaçao, Turkey, Iran, DR Congo, and Iraq.
However, there have been some notable absences, and some renowned stars will miss the tournament, and potentially their last chance to be in a World Cup due to their ages. Perhaps no name bigger than Robert Lewandowski, after Poland was eliminated by Sweden. At 37, the Barcelona striker, who has scored 89 times for Poland, may not be active in four years, for World Cup 2030.
The elimination of Italy means that no Italian players will be at the competition. Perhaps the most famous of all is goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was named players of the tournament at the 2020 UEFA Euros in 2021. Also on penalties, Denmark was eliminated, and with them, Christian Eriksen, who at 34 may not be around for World Cup 2030.
From African countries, Guinea was eliminated and so was the Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy, as well as former Napoli striker Victor Osimhen from Nigeria and Galatasaray. Now in Marseille,Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, from Gabon, may also end his career without a World Cup participation.
Other notable absences include:
Bryan Mbeumo - Cameroon, Manchester United
Dusan Vlahovic - Serbia, Juventus
Dominik Szoboszlai - Hungary, Liverpool
Sandro Tonali - Italy, Newcastle
Milos Kerkez - Hungary, Liverpool
Alexis Sanchez - Chile, Sevilla