Victor Osimhen, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the biggest stars who have failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup

Georgia were one of the surprise packages at Euro 2024, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was the driving force behind their run to the last 16 with his dizzying runs and relentless work rate. But the Paris Saint-Germain winger won't be strutting his stuff on the grandest stage of all next summer.

Kvaratskhelia did score twice in World Cup qualifying, including in a 3-0 win over Bulgaria, but Georgia lost four of their remaining five fixtures and finished a distant third behind Spain and Turkey in Group E. A chastening 4-1 defeat away to Turkey marked the lowest point, and head coach Willy Sagnol will have to go back to the drawing board to lift his confidence-stricken squad, which simply doesn't contain any other players who can come close to matching Kvaratskhelia's level.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one of the finest strikers of his generation to never play at the World Cup, and after Gabon's latest qualification failure, it's safe to say that the 36-year-old will retire without ticking that box. Gabon booked a spot in the CAF play-offs after finishing second in their group, just one point behind Cote d'Ivoire, and Aubameyang contributed seven goals to their cause, including a superb quadruple haul in a thrilling 4-3 victory away at Gambia.

The former Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund star, who is now enjoying a second spell with Marseille at club level, led the line again in Gabon's blockbuster semi-final tie against Nigeria. Gabon fought hard to force extra-time, with Mario Lemina equalising in the 89th minute, but that appeared to zap all their energy, and Nigeria eventually emerged as 4-1 winners, with Victor Osimhen grabbing a brace. 

Gabon's search for a maiden World Cup appearance goes on, and their chances will surely only dwindle once they lose Aubameyang's services.

Bryan Mbeumo was born in central France and represented Les Bleus at Under-21 level, but in 2022, he switched allegiance to Cameroon, the land of his father. Three years on, there may be part of him that regrets that decision. 

Cameroon were embarrassingly beaten to automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup by minnows Cape Verde, and were subsequently pitted against DR Congo in the CAF play-offs. Mbeumo played the full 90 minutes, alongside Manchester United colleague Andre Onana and Brighton's Carlos Baleba, but DR Congo won the contest 1-0, courtesy of a stoppage-time winner from Chancel Mbemba. Mbeumo, who has only scored seven goals in 27 games for Cameroon to date, was guilty of missing a clear chance in the second half, and went viral for storming down the tunnel after the final whistle.

The Indomitable Lions have played at more World Cups than any other African nation (eight), but the current team doesn't hold a candle to those from the past. Turmoil away from the pitch has continually detracted from any progress in recent years, and the path forward looks anything but clear, with Marc Brys reportedly set to be relieved of his managerial duties.

Serbia have failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014, and this failure will no doubt sting more than most. Head coach Dragan Stojkovic resigned after a dismal 1-0 home defeat to Albania in October, and Serbia were officially eliminated from the process after a 2-0 defeat to England at Wembley last Thursday.

England romped through as Group K winners with a perfect record, while Albania made the play-offs for the first time in their history. It was a nightmare campaign for Serbia and, more specifically, Dusan Vlahovic, who mustered only two goals and went completely missing in the double-headers against England and Albania.

The Juventus star has yet to prove himself as a top-class striker and questions have been asked over his future in Turin. With only 16 goals to his name from 41 international games, he has done little to inspire Serbia either, and his stock will be lower than ever when the transfer market reopens.

Group F was easily one of the most dramatic of the European qualification groups, with the top two only decided in the final round of matches. Portugal annihilated Armenia 9-1 to claim top spot, and Hungary were literally seconds away from nabbing the runners-up spot, only to be denied by Ireland's hat-trick hero Troy Parrott. 

The former Tottenham forward poked home from close range in the sixth minute of stoppage time to earn Ireland a 3-2 win in Budapest, sparking wild scenes of celebration in the away dugout. But in stark contrast, Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai was seen breaking down in tears.

Some Ireland fans may have seen that as karma, because the Liverpool star was spotted celebrating Hungary's second goal of the game by sticking his finger up his nose and wiggling it around in the direction of the benches, but few players had done more to drag their nation towards North America than Szoboszlai.

A World Cup berth would have been just reward for his return of five goal contributions from six matches, which included a stunning stoppage-time leveller against Portugal. Szoboszlai's Liverpool team-mate Milos Kerkez also impressed, but Hungary were undone by complacency in the end, and their wait for a 10th World Cup finals outing will now extend to 44 years. 

Nigeria will miss out on successive World Cups after suffering a shock African final play-off defeat to DR Congo. The Super Eagles were hot favourites to make it through to a final intercontinental playoff in March after seeing off Gabon, but DR Congo shattered their dreams after a gruelling contest that was ultimately decided on penalties.

The two teams played out a 1-1 draw in normal time, and Nigeria's attacking threat evaporated after Osimhen was withdrawn at the interval with a leg issue. DR Congo were unfortunate not to find a second goal, but luck shone on them in the shootout as they earned a 4-3 victory. 

It never should have come to this for what is undoubtedly a golden generation for Nigeria. The absence of Osimhen will be an especially great shame when the World Cup kicks off, given the Galatasaray star is among the best strikers in the business. He scored eight goals in qualifying, but the rest of the Nigeria squad did not match his high standards. The likes of Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze, Calvin Bassey and Wilfred Ndidi all disappointed, and will need to do some serious soul searching.

Things might have been different had Osimhen not missed three games due to injury, but Nigeria have become far too reliant on the former Napoli man. He will be 30 by the time the next World Cup rolls around, which means his prime years will have gone to waste from a global perspective.

Alexis Sanchez has enjoyed a glittering career that has included successful spells at Barcelona, Arsenal and Inter, while he also shone for Chile at the 2014 World Cup. The diminutive forward, now at the ripe old age of 36, won't get the chance to grace that stage again, though.

Chile narrowly fell short of qualifying for both the 2018 and 2022 finals, but they were miles away this time around, finishing bottom of the CONMEBOL table with only 11 points from 18 games. A serious calf problem ruled Sanchez out of their first eight matches, and he was exiled from the squad entirely after the September appointment of new manager Nicolas Cordova.

Sanchez did feature in a 1-0 home loss to Argentina and a 2-0 reversal at Bolivia, but was a shadow of his old self. He has not officially retired from international duty, but Chile are embarking on a new era without their long-time talisman, for better or worse.

Benjamin Sesko is going through the toughest period of his fledgling career. The 22-year-old has failed to hit the ground running at Old Trafford after swapping RB Leipzig for Manchester United in the summer, and has not been able to rebuild any confidence while away on international duty with Slovenia.

Sesko played every minute of Slovenia's first four World Cup qualifiers, but didn't register a single goal or assist as the team amassed only three points from a possible 12. He then picked up a knee injury that left him watching on powerlessly from the sidelines as Slovenia were beaten 2-0 at home by Kosovo in November, ending their faint hopes of making it to next summer's tournament.

Slovenia haven't qualified since 2010, and it's difficult to see them ending that barren run anytime soon. Beyond Sesko, there is precious little quality to speak of in their outfield ranks, with only goalkeeper Jan Oblak capable of performing at a world-class level. Sesko puts in plenty of effort, but he's not a miracle worker; with no proper service he and Slovenia will continue to meander along for the foreseeable future.

When Keylor Navas came out of international retirement in May 2025, he did so with playing at his fourth World Cup in mind. The three-time Champions League-winning goalkeeper may now be 38 and winding down his career in Mexico with Pumas, but he was immediately re-installed as Costa Rica captain for their qualifying campaign as they aimed to take advantage of the three best teams in CONCACAF being co-hosts and thus not being involved.

And while Navas only conceded six goals in his six qualifying appearances, a lack of goals at the other end of the pitch saw Costa Rica win just one match on their way to finishing third in Group C behind Honduras and winners Haiti. That means for just the second time in the 21st century, Los Ticos will not be at the finals.

Few strikers have been more prolific than Serhou Guirassy across Europe over the past few seasons. Since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, the Borussia Dortmund frontman has netted 75 goals in all competitions at club level and finished as the joint-top scorer in last season's Champions League. Subsequently, Guinea were hopeful that he could carry that form into the international arena and fire them to their first World Cup.

Guirassy, however, came up massively short, as he scored just once during a qualifying campaign that saw Guinea finish fourth in their group behind Algeria, Uganda and Mozambique. They won just four of their 10 matches as Guirassy failed to produce anything of note in the final third.