One of the greatest strikers of the last 15 years, Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, is among the big names who will not play in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The 37-year-old Barcelona striker, who scored 89 goals for his country, failed to impress his team last night as they lost 3-2 in Stockholm to Sweden in the play-off final.
Lewandowski, who won the Bundesliga title 10 times, twice with Borussia Dortmund and then eight consecutive seasons with Bayern Munich, before winning La Liga twice with Barca, may have played in his last major international tournament.
The BBC lists six players who did not qualify for this year’s World Cup.
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Manchester City and Italy)
Gianluigi Donnarumma has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League this season since joining from Paris Saint-Germain in September for €30m, having helped the French club win the Champions League last season.
Despite being the player of the tournament when Italy won Euro 2020, he missed out on the World Cup again after Italy lost 4-1 on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina last night.
Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund and Guinea)
Serhou Guirassy has established himself as one of the most prolific strikers in world football, with 62 goals in the German Bundesliga over the past three seasons, while no player has scored more than his 13 goals in the Champions League in the 2024/25 season.
But he will not be at the World Cup, as his country, Guinea, were eliminated in the first round of African qualifiers, finishing fourth in their group, with just four wins and three draws from 10 matches.
Khvicha Kvaratchelia (Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia)
Khvicha Kvaratchelia helped Paris St-Germain win the Champions League last season, scoring in a 5-0 win over Inter in the final, and finishing 12th in the race for the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
But Georgia had a miserable season in World Cup qualifiers, earning just three points in a group that included Spain, Turkey and Bulgaria.
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona and Poland)
Lewandowski captained Poland at the 2018 World Cup but failed to score in Russia, where his country finished bottom of the group. Four years later, in Qatar, he had a better tournament, scoring twice as Poland reached the last 16 before losing to France.
He scored four goals in Group G in 2026 as Poland finished three points behind the Netherlands, before losing to Sweden last night.
Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray and Nigeria)
Victor Osimhen helped Napoli win Serie A in 2023 before moving to Galatasaray, where he scored 26 goals in 30 games and led them to the Turkish league title last season.
Nigeria drew five of their 10 matches in the first group stage, finishing one point behind winners South Africa, but then had a second chance in the qualifiers.
With Osimhen already substituted, Nigeria lost on penalties to DR Congo and missed out on the World Cup.
Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool and Hungary)
Liverpool and Hungary midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai has impressed this season, scoring some stunning goals from distance.
But he will not be at the World Cup after his country lost a 2-1 lead in their final group game, as the Republic of Ireland scored twice in extra time to secure a place in the knockout stages and eliminate Hungary .
