11 huge stars missing 2026 World Cup as Man Utd trio and Liverpool stars eliminated

View 4 Images

The 2026 World Cup is now just a matter of months away - and the tournament is quickly starting to take shape. 32 teams have already sealed their tickets to the USA, Canada and Mexico following successful qualification campaigns.

Worry not, England fans, the Three Lions are already among those. A number of other big-hitters including Argentina, Brazil, France and Portugal are also already World Cup-bound.

The expanded format of the World Cup has led to a number of smaller sides also qualifying including Uzbekistan, Cape Verde, Paraguay and more. Unfortunately, some other teams have had disastrous qualifying campaigns and will not be taking part.

And that could see some huge names left on their sofas instead of the pitch during the tournament. Take a look at some of them below:

A £74m signing for Manchester United in the summer, striker Benjamin Sesko has been one of his country’s brightest hopes for the last few years. There’s no doubt he is a talent but that’s not been enough to help Slovenia to the World Cup.

They have had a dire campaign though, not winning any of their five opening games. Slovenia could even finish bottom of their group should they lose to winless Sweden on Tuesday evening.

View 4 Images

Who will win next year's World Cup? Share your predictions in the comments below

Sticking with Man United, they’ve got even more players set to stay behind during the World Cup. Cameroon’s failure to qualify will see both goalkeeper Andre Onana - who is currently on loan at Trabzonspor - and Bryan Mbeumo sidelined next summer.

The African side took on DR Congo on Thursday aiming to book a spot in the final of the playoffs, only for ex-Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba to seal victory late on for his side.

Across the North West, a number of Liverpool stars will have just a watching brief during the World Cup. Hungary looked to be in an excellent place to at least seal a playoff place having gone 2-1 up in their winner takes all clash with Republic of Ireland.

But they transpired to collapse in Budapest , with a Troy Parrot hat-trick turning the game on its head. That condemned Hungary to a third-place finish in their group and saw them stripped of a potential place at the World Cup. It also means that Liverpool pair Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez will not be at the tournament.

View 4 Images

After being absent from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar , Nigeria will now miss a second consecutive tournament. They got as far as the final of the play-off tournament and took on DR Congo.

And despite Frank Onyeka giving Nigeria an early lead, they ultimately went on to eventually lose on penalties. Their failure will see a number of stars left at home including Galatasaray star Victor Osimhen, Fulham forward Alex Iwobi and Atalanta sensation Ademola Lookman.

A name familiar to Premier League fans, the Gabonese forward enjoyed a sensational spell with Arsenal before taking in stints with Barcelona and Chelsea , as well as in Saudi Arabia.

Gabon have never played at a World Cup and cruelly saw their latest efforts ended in brutal fashion. They took on Nigeria this international window, finding themselves 1-0 down.

Ex-Southampton star Mario Lemina scored late on to take the game into extra-time, only for Nigeria to score three times to seal a dramatic win.

View 4 Images

A member of England’s qualifying group, Serbia came so close to at least getting a playoff spot. A 2-1 win against Latvia in their final match saw them finish just one point behind Albania in the race for second spot.

Their failure to qualify will see a number of talented forwards including Juventus ’ Dusan Vlahovic and Aleksandar Mitrovic out of action next summer.

Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.