One of the greatest strikers of the last 15 years – Poland’s Robert Lewandowski – is among the big names who will not be playing at the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the United States of America and Mexico.
The 37-year-old Barcelona striker, who has scored 89 goals for his country, failed to inspire his side after they lost 3-2 in Stockholm to Sweden in the play-off final on Tuesday.
Lewandowski, who won the German 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.
BBC highlights 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 his £26million move from Paris St-Germain in September, after helping the French club win the Champions League last season.
Despite being man of the tournament when Italy won the 2020 European Championship, he missed the World Cup again after Italy lost 4-1 on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.
Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund and Guinea)
Serhou Guirassy has established himself as one of the most prolific strikers in world football, scoring 62 goals in the German Bundesliga over the last three seasons, while no player has scored more than his 13 goals in the 2024-25 Champions League.
But he will not be at the World Cup as his country Guinea crashed out in the first round of African qualifiers, finishing fourth in their group, with just four wins and three draws from 10 games.
Khvicha Kvaratchelia (Paris Saint-Germain and Georgia)
Khvicha Kvaratchelia helped Paris St-Germain win the European Championship last season, scoring in a 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the final, and finished 12th in the 2025 Ballon d’Or.
But Georgia had a poor season in World Cup qualifying, picking up 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 on Tuesday.
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 title last season.
Nigeria drew five of their 10 games in the first group stage, finishing a point behind winners South Africa, but then had a second chance at the play-offs.
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 great goals from distance.
But he won’t be at the World Cup after his country let go of a 2-1 lead in the final group stage game as the Republic of Ireland scored twice in stoppage time to secure a place in the play-offs and eliminate Hungary.
(Fena | Photo: X)
