2026 World Cup: Nigeria, Cameroon and Italy headline list of 10 big absentees

Nigeria will miss the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat to DR Congo in the African play-off final. The Super Eagles, who also failed to qualify for the 2022 tournament, crashed out in Rabat, Morocco, following a 1-1 draw that ended 4-3 on spot kicks. Cameroon suffered the same fate, eliminated earlier by the same Leopards side with a 1-0 loss sealed by a 91st-minute goal from Chancel Mbemba.

DR Congo’s victory means the Leopards will now join the inter-confederation play-offs, where they secured one of the final two tickets alongside Iraq. This takes Africa’s total to a historic 10 teams at the expanded 48-nation tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The other nine African qualifiers are Algeria, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.

Italy, four-time world champions, are the biggest European casualty after falling to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the play-off final. Denmark and Poland also missed out, losing their respective deciders to Czechia and Sweden. The three Nordic and Central European sides had all featured regularly in recent World Cups but could not navigate the tight qualifying path.

In South America, Chile, Peru and Bolivia will watch from home. Bolivia came agonisingly close, losing 2-1 to Iraq in the intercontinental play-off final. The trio joins a growing list of CONMEBOL nations struggling to keep pace with the traditional powerhouses Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay.

China from Asia and Costa Rica from North and Central America complete the notable absentees. Both countries have tasted World Cup football in the past but failed to book return tickets this cycle. With the tournament kicking off in June, fans across Nigeria are already asking tough questions about the Super Eagles’ future as the search for a new direction begins.