Soccer
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Some of world football’s biggest names, including Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Robert Lewandowski, will not feature at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports.
Qualification heartbreaks—for countries like Italy, Nigeria, and Georgia—and injuries ruled out several elite stars.
While the expanded tournament will welcome more teams, it will still be missing several players whose nations failed to qualify or who have been sidelined by long-term injuries.
Soccer Qualification heartbreak rules out Osimhen, Lookman, Lewandowski
Nigeria’s failure to secure a ticket to the Mundial means both Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will miss out on football’s biggest stage despite their impressive club form in Europe.
Similarly, Robert Lewandowski will not be present after Poland fell short in the European qualification play-offs, denying the Barcelona striker another shot at World Cup glory.
Elsewhere, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia) and Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary) are also set to miss the tournament after their countries failed to progress from their respective qualifying campaigns.
Cameroon’s elimination further adds to the list, ruling out Bryan Mbeumo, while European giants Italy will again be absent, meaning Gianluigi Donnarumma will not feature at the competition.
Soccer Injury blow rules out Rodrygo despite Brazil’s strength
Unlike the others, Rodrygo will miss the World Cup due to injury rather than qualification failure.
The Real Madrid forward suffered a serious knee injury, including an ACL tear, which has ruled him out for an extended period and ended his hopes of representing Brazil at the tournament.
His absence is a major setback for the South American giants, who would have counted on his quality on the global stage.
Ayomide Oguntimehin
Ayomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Chief Editor at Soccernet.ng. He has interviewed Super Eagles stars like William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, and Ademola Lookman, and is known for breaking major transfer stories.
Ayomide has worked with Sports Brief, Naija News and served as Social Lead Editor at Legit.ng. He has also featured on Goal, TVC News, Sports Mole, and Milan News24. He holds a Master’s degree and is currently pursuing a PhD. Follow Ayomide on X (formerly Twitter): @ayo_oguntimehin
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