By Kunle Solaja.

Despite the expansion of the FIFA World Cup to 48 teams, several high-profile nations—including some ranked within the top 30 globally—will not feature at the 2026 finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada, underlining the increasingly unforgiving nature of modern qualification.

The most striking absence is the four-time world champions Italy national football team, who failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup after losing on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European playoffs.
Once a permanent fixture at the global showpiece, Italy’s continued absence has triggered widespread criticism at home, with many describing the situation as a national sporting crisis.

Europe’s Big Casualties

Italy are not alone among Europe’s elite in missing out. Countries such as Denmark’s national football team, Poland’s national football team and Serbia’s national football team, all of whom have consistently hovered around the top tiers of FIFA rankings in recent years, also failed to make the cut.

Poland’s elimination is particularly significant, as it likely marks the end of World Cup ambitions for veteran striker Robert Lewandowski, while Denmark’s absence comes after years of steady progress on the international stage.

Serbia, boasting a generation of technically gifted players, were also among those eliminated during the qualification process.

African Heavyweights Left Out

Africa will send a record number of teams to the expanded tournament, yet notable absentees remain.
Three-time African champions Nigeria national football team and five-time AFCON winners Cameroon national football team both failed to qualify after disappointing campaigns.

Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions are among Africa’s big names missing at the World Cup.

Nigeria’s absence is particularly glaring given the quality of players such as Victor Osimhen, while Cameroon fell short despite a squad featuring several Europe-based stars.

South American Decline

In South America, the Chile national football team continue their dramatic fall from grace. Once Copa América champions, Chile finished bottom of the CONMEBOL qualifying table, extending their World Cup absence to three editions.

Emerging Pattern: Expansion Without Guarantees

The absence of these established football nations highlights a key reality: even with 48 slots, World Cup qualification remains fiercely competitive.

While debutants such as Cape Verde, Curaçao and Uzbekistan have secured historic places at the finals, traditional powers have faltered under pressure.

Analysts note that this shift reflects a broader trend in global football—greater parity, improved development structures in smaller nations, and declining dominance of traditional heavyweights.

A World Cup Without Familiar Faces

The 2026 tournament will therefore present a unique landscape—one where emerging nations share the stage while several established powers watch from home.

For fans, it promises freshness and unpredictability. For the absent giants, however, it serves as a stark reminder that reputation alone is no longer enough to secure a place at football’s biggest event.

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Gennaro Gattuso’s reign as Italy manager ended on Friday, the country’s football federation (FIGC) said, ​after the national team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Italy lost Tuesday’s playoff final in Bosnia on penalties, and the ‌four-time champions have now missed out on three consecutive World Cups.

Gattuso’s departure came a day after FIGC President Gabriele Gravina resigned, and national team delegation head Gianluigi Buffon stepped down from his role.

“With a heavy heart, having failed to achieve the goal we had set ourselves, I consider my time in charge of the national ​team to be over,” Gattuso said in a statement.

“The Azzurri shirt is the most precious asset in football, which is why ​it is right to facilitate future technical assessments with immediate effect.

“It has been an honour to lead the ⁠national team, and to do so with a group of lads who have shown commitment and loyalty to the shirt.”

The FIGC thanked Gattuso ​for his work.

“The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) and Gennaro Ivan Gattuso have mutually terminated the contract that bound the Calabrian coach to the helm of ​the Italian national football team,” the FIGC said in a statement.

“The FIGC thanks Gattuso and his entire staff for the professionalism, dedication and passion with which they have worked over the past nine months and wishes them every success in their future careers.

GATTUSO APPOINTED ON ONE-YEAR CONTRACT

Gattuso was appointed in June on a one-year contract, ​replacing Luciano Spalletti who was sacked following Italy’s 3-0 defeat by Norway in their opening group game, although he remained in place for the 2-0 ​win over Moldova the next day.

Italy won their next five group games under Gattuso, but given Norway’s far superior goal difference, they were resigned to another ‌World Cup ⁠playoff before the final group game, which Norway won 4-1 at the San Siro.

Italy had lost at the playoff stage of the last two World Cups, but looked on course to make it this time after a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in the semi-final, before it all fell apart in Bosnia.

Gattuso’s 10-man team let slip a 1-0 lead and crumbled in the penalty shootout.

After the loss in Zenica, Gattuso said ​it was not the time to ​speak about his future, but ⁠once Gravina made his decision to step away, it was a matter of when Gattuso would follow.

WHO NEXT FOR ITALY?

Gattuso, 48, was a member of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad, but the country ​has failed to come anywhere close to replicating that success in the sport’s biggest tournament.

Italy won ​just one game over ⁠the next two editions, exiting at the group stage on both occasions. While there was a spark of recovery with their Euro 2020 triumph, their continued absence from the World Cup underlined their decline.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri and Napoli manager Antonio Conte are names being mentioned as Gattuso’s ⁠successor.

Conte ​has managed Italy, taking charge in 2014 and leading them to Euro 2016 where ​his last game was a loss on penalties to Germany in the quarter-finals, having already announced he would leave after the tournament.

Italy’s next game is a friendly in ​Greece on June 7, and they begin their Nations League campaign in September when they host Belgium.

-Reuters

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Italian soccer federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina resigned on Thursday, in the wake of the national team’s failure to qualify for a third straight World Cup.

Gravina, in charge of the FIGC since 2018, had ​been urged by the government to step down after Italy’s defeat on penalties in the playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.

The federation will hold an ‌extraordinary assembly on June 22 to elect a new chief, while Gravina offered to appear before a parliamentary committee on April 8 “to report on the state of health of Italian soccer”, a statement said.

That hearing has now been cancelled, as the committee awaits the election outcome.

The Italian soccer team last qualified for the World Cup in 2014 and has won only one match at the finals since lifting the trophy for ​the fourth time in 2006.

Former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, national team delegation head, has also announced his resignation via social media.

Gravina was elected unopposed in October 2018, the ​72-year-old replacing Carlo Tavecchio who resigned a week after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

“After many years there is a ⁠feeling of great bitterness, but great serenity,” Gravina told reporters.

“I must thank all the federal components who today have shown me great affection, support and closeness today, also insisting that ​I continue, but my personal choice was made with conviction and careful consideration.”

While Gravina’s term included the Euro 2020 triumph, it also involved another two World Cup qualification failures and his ​position had become increasingly untenable after much criticism from Italian media and senior political figures.

Italy’s Sports Minister Andrea Abodi described Italy’s latest failure as a “definitive defeat” and suggested that Italian football needs to be “rebuilt from the ground up”.

Gravina spoke immediately after the loss to Bosnia, saying he understood the request for resignation but that there was a suitable place to make evaluations.

That place was the FIGC headquarters in Rome, ​where Gravina met with the six federal components – Serie A, B and C, National Amateur League, Players’ Association and Coaches Association – and informed them of his decision at the start ​of the meeting.

Gravina was re-elected in February 2021, and again in February 2025 with his mandate due to end in 2028, but the search now begins for his successor.

Names already being mentioned include 67-year-old ‌former head ⁠of Italy’s Olympic Committee (CONI) Giovanni Malago and previous FIGC president Giancarlo Abete. Abete, 75, held the role from 2007 to 2014.

BUFFON BOWS OUT

Buffon, former Italy goalkeeper and part of the 2006 World Cup-winning side, wrote on Instagram that he had initially offered his resignation immediately after the loss to Bosnia, but had been asked to take time to reflect.

“Now that president Gravina has chosen to take a step back, I feel free to do what I feel is an act of responsibility,” Buffon wrote.

“Because, even in the sincere conviction that I have built ​so much on a spirit and group level ​with Rino Gattuso and all the ⁠collaborators, in a very short time at the disposal of the national team, the main objective was to bring Italy back to the World Cup.

“We didn’t succeed. It’s fair to leave it to those who will come after, the freedom to choose the figure they think ​is best to play my role.”

SOCIAL MEDIA STORM

Gravina had also come in for heavy criticism for comments he made after the Bosnia ​defeat, when asked why ⁠Italy excelled in other disciplines but not in football.

In his response, Gravina said that football is a professional sport, while the others are amateur, which caused outrage, with many Italian athletes taking to social media.

Irma Testa, the first female boxer to represent Italy at the Olympics and bronze medallist in 2020, wrote on Instagram that ‘we are the real professionals’ and the FIGC statement on Thursday ⁠said that ​Gravina expressed regret over the interpretation of his remarks.

Gravina explained that his comments referred to the presence within ​some federations of leagues with their own autonomy and the corporate nature of professional clubs which must comply with national and international legislation.

After Gravina and Buffon’s resignations, Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso’s position is also under question, with his ​contract ending in June. Media reports have linked Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri as possible replacements.

-Reuters

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