145 Teams Eliminated from 2026 World Cup Qualifying
A total of 145 teams have been eliminated from qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Out of the 48 teams that will compete in next summer's tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, 42 spots have already been filled. The remaining six will be determined during March's international break.
Four of these spots will be allocated through Europe's play-off tournament, while the other two will be decided via intercontinental play-offs.
Several teams, including Curacao, Uzbekistan, and Cape Verde, will make their World Cup debuts in 2026. However, the tournament will also feature many of the world's top footballing nations.
Unfortunately, some significant footballing countries will not be represented next year. From Europe, Serbia, Greece, and Hungary are among the notable absentees.
In Asia, populous nations such as China and India will also miss out on the tournament.
Nigeria, which has participated in seven World Cups since the last tournament held in the United States in 1994, along with fellow African nation Cameroon, which reached the quarter-finals in 1990, will not compete in 2026 after being eliminated from Africa's play-offs.
Trinidad and Tobago, who were part of England's group in the 2006 World Cup, lead the list of North American and Caribbean countries that will not participate in the newly formatted tournament. Costa Rica and Honduras, both of which faced England in 2014, were the last two teams to exit World Cup qualifying on Tuesday night.
In South America, Venezuela, Peru, and Chile are confirmed to be absent, while nine out of the eleven countries from Oceania also failed to qualify.
With 42 teams qualified and 145 eliminated, 22 teams still have the opportunity to qualify through either the intercontinental or European play-offs.
Countries Not Participating in the 2026 World Cup
Europe (UEFA) : Slovenia, Greece, Belarus, Georgia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Armenia, Cyprus, San Marino, Iceland, Azerbaijan, Finland, Malta, Lithuania, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Serbia, Latvia, Andorra, Faroe Islands, Montenegro, Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Israel, Moldova, Russia*
Asia (AFC) : Mongolia, Maldives, Guam, Sri Lanka*, Macau, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Brunei, Bhutan, Laos, India, Afghanistan, Syria, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Chinese Taipei, Turkmenistan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Philippines, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Nepal, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Kuwait, Indonesia, China, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates
Africa (CAF) : Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, Togo, Mauritania, South Sudan, Nigeria, Benin, Lesotho, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Libya, Angola, Mauritius, Eswatini, Niger, Tanzania, Zambia, Congo*, Eritrea*, Gabon, Gambia, Kenya, Burundi, Seychelles, Uganda, Mozambique, Guinea, Botswana, Somalia, Namibia, Liberia, Malawi, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Madagascar, Mali, Comoros, Central African Republic
North and Central America (CONCACAF) : Turks and Caicos Islands, US Virgin Islands, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Aruba, Barbados, Guyana, Montserrat, Belize, Dominican Republic, Dominica, British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Anguilla, Guatemala, El Salvador, Trinidad and Tobago, Bermuda, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras
South America (CONMEBOL) : Venezuela, Peru, Chile
Oceania (OFC) : Cook Islands, American Samoa, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Samoa, Tahiti, Fiji
*Countries marked with an asterisk were either suspended or served suspensions during all or part of the World Cup qualifying process.
Top Players Missing from the 2026 World Cup
With 161 countries entering the qualifying rounds, numerous top players will not be participating in the World Cup.
Historically, many of the sport's greatest talents, such as George Best and George Weah, never had the chance to showcase their skills at the World Cup due to their nations' failures to qualify.
A hypothetical starting eleven of the best players not attending the World Cup includes a Premier League-winning midfielder, a La Liga-winning goalkeeper, and two players who ranked among the top 20 in the 2025 Ballon d'Or.
In goal, we have Jan Oblak of Atletico Madrid, Slovenia's first-choice goalkeeper with 82 caps and 381 La Liga appearances since 2014.
At right-back, Nottingham Forest's Ola Aina played a crucial role in his club's return to the Europa League but saw Nigeria miss out on World Cup qualification.
RB Leipzig's Willi Orban is joined by Serbian Nikola Milenkovic, both playing key defensive roles.
Liverpool's Milos Kerkez, who transferred from Bournemouth for £40 million, rounds out the defense at left-back.
Manchester United's Bryan Mbuemo, the team's top scorer this season, will play on the right wing after Cameroon failed to qualify.
Midfield is led by Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai, along with Brighton's Carlos Baleba, both absent due to their countries' failure to qualify.
Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who finished 12th in this year's Ballon d'Or, will also miss the tournament as Georgia did not qualify.
Another Ballon d'Or nominee, Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy, will not participate as Guinea failed to qualify.
Completing the squad is Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, who scored eight goals in qualifying but could not secure a spot for Nigeria.
Proposed Starting 11: Jan Oblak (Slovenia); Ola Aina (Nigeria), Willi Orban (Hungary), Nikola Milenkovic (Serbia), Milos Kerkez (Hungary); Bryan Mbuemo (Cameroon), Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary), Carlos Baleba (Cameroon), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia); Serhou Guirassy (Guinea), Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
This article is brought to you by BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.