Top 10 Players Who Will Miss The World Cup

With a 48-team World Cup, most of the biggest names will take the pitch for their national sides this June. However, there are still a few big names who will miss the World Cup.

That’s the reality of international soccer, as some top players compete for smaller nations that fail to qualify. Others run into injury problems, and still others find themselves on the outs with their national team. For whatever reason, these top players won’t take part when World Cup action kicks off.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Georgia

Kvaratskhelia, one of Paris Saint-Germain’s top players, will always have a tough time making a World Cup because of his nation’s small stature. He guided Georgia into the round of 16 at Euro 2024, and he’s just 25, so he’s still got at least one and probably two more chances. But Georgia’s place as a minnow in UEFA means Kvaratskhelia will always be a likely candidate to be a top player who will miss the World Cup.

Robert Lewandowski, Poland

Lewandowski has long suffered from many of the problems that plague Kvaratskhelia. At the club level, Lewandowski is among equals and can shine. When he plays for Poland, he draws most of the attention because the rest of his team doesn’t match up to him. Usually, Poland tries to play through him, and that doesn’t work against the biggest names.

Ademola Lookman, Nigeria

Lookman, Africa’s player of the year in 2024, came close. However, Nigeria lost in penalties to Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving the Super Eagles home for the second straight World Cup. To make matters worse for the Atletico Madrid man, Nigeria had nobody to blame but itself. It drew at home with Lesotho and Zimbabwe; a win against either would have Lookman in the World Cup.

Hugo Ekitike, France

Ekitike was on track to make the World Cup, but a ruptured Achilles put an end to his hopes of competing for France. The Liverpool forward isn’t likely to play again in 2026, with a target return of January.

Rodrygo, Brazil

The Real Madrid man joined the list of players who will miss the World Cup in March, as he ruptured his ACL in a La Liga match against Getafe. He’s likely to take until November to return.

Gianluigi Donnaruma, Italy

Italy always has top goaltending. But Donnaruma didn’t have nearly enough in front of him, which led the Azzurri to miss their third straight World Cup. Italy hasn’t qualified for the tournament since 2014 and hasn’t gotten by the group stage since winning the 2006 World Cup.

Bryan Mbuemo, Cameroon

Mbuemo had a strong season at Manchester United, scoring 11 times in the Premier League. But Cameroon, which beat Brazil at the 2022 World Cup, couldn’t find any consistency. The Indomitable Lions were shut out three times in their final four qualifying matches.

Xavi Simons, Netherlands

The Dutch have issues with injuries. Both Simons and Jurrien Timber are down, with Simons tearing his ACL and Timber dealing with a groin problem. Simons appears to be the more serious absence, as his injury leaves a big hole in the Netherlands’ midfield attack.

Tanner Tessmann, United States

The exclusion of Tessmann means Mauricio Pochettino’s time will either be judged as a new era for American soccer or a failure of judgment. Tessmann gets regular minutes at Lyon in France, but Pochettino chose not to bring him, despite a lack of true midfielders on the roster. If the U.S. flames out, this might be a reason why.

Diego Luna, United States

Despite getting a lot of attention in the buildup to the World Cup, Luna is on the outside looking in. Luna had played regularly for the USMNT, but he doesn’t seem to be in Pochettino’s plans. He’s the biggest American star to miss the World Cup, and it remains to be seen how notable his absence is.