We are now just weeks away from the start of the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

In this report, we will present a list of 16 top-tier players who will miss the 2026 World Cup finals, due to reasons ranging from their national teams' failure to qualify to long-term injuries.

Notably, despite the expansion of the tournament to include 48 teams, not all top-tier stars are guaranteed to participate, especially given the strength of the qualifiers across different continents.

Naturally, it is expected that some names will be absent due to potential injuries or decisions made by the coaches. Additionally, there may be other notable names that were not included in the report.

Here are the most prominent stars included in the list:

Robert Lewandowski (Poland): The Barcelona forward will not be present after the Polish national team failed to progress through the qualifying playoffs.

Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy): Goalkeeper for Manchester City, as the "Azzurri" continue to miss the World Cup for the third consecutive time.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia): The Paris Saint-Germain star and one of the world's leading wingers, due to Georgia not qualifying.

Victor Osimhen (Nigeria): The Galatasaray striker will not participate following the "Super Eagles" failure to reach the finals.

Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary): The captain of the Hungarian national team and Liverpool star will be absent after failing in the qualifiers.

Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia): The Juventus striker will be absent due to Serbia's failure to secure a spot in the tournament.

Rodrigo (Brazil): The Real Madrid star is absent due to a severe knee injury.

Jan Oblak and Benjamin Sesko (Slovenia): A duo from the Spanish and English leagues, due to Slovenia's exit from the qualifiers.

Sandro Tonali and Alessandro Bastoni (Italy): They join their teammate Donnarumma on the list of notable Italian absentees.

Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon): The Manchester United star will not attend after Cameroon was eliminated from the African playoffs.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon): whose career will continue to lack World Cup participation following his national team's exit.

Serhou Guirassy (Guinea): The prolific striker for Borussia Dortmund will not be present due to Guinea's failure to qualify.

Hugo Ekitike (France): The standout Liverpool striker will be absent due to injury.

Serge Gnabry (Germany): The player, who is having an outstanding season with Bayern Munich, will be absent due to injury.