Khaberni - The Italy team will not be the only team missing from the 2026 World Cup, among the teams whose attendance was expected in a tournament featuring 48 teams.
Like Italy, Denmark lost on penalties to the Czech Republic after two extra halves, which is considered a big surprise for a team ranked 20th in the FIFA world rankings.
Since their historic journey in the 1998 France World Cup, Denmark missed the opportunity to participate in the World Cup for the third time, after the 2006 and 2014 tournaments.
The Polish team was eliminated in the playoffs, losing to Sweden 3-2, with a late goal in the 88th minute by Viktor Gyokeres, marking their first major tournament absence since the 2014 World Cup.
According to "L'Équipe" newspaper, this elimination could hasten the end of Robert Lewandowski's international career, who is the most capped player for Poland (165 matches), and its historic top scorer with 89 goals.
After qualifying for three out of four editions held since its independence in 2006, Serbia did not even participate in the playoffs, after being surpassed by England and Albania in the first round of the qualifiers.
Africa's Giants Among the Absentees
The situation isn't much different in Africa, as both Cameroon and Nigeria will be absent, despite being among the largest teams from the continent that will see the presence of 10 teams in the upcoming World Cup.
The Nigerian team lost in the penalty shootout in the final of the African playoff against the Democratic Republic of the Congo last November, joining Cameroon which lost to the same team in the semifinals.
Continued Absence of Chile
The major teams from South America have qualified, with the only disappointment being the continued absence of Chile, which reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2010 and 2014, for the third consecutive time.
The expansion of slots from 5 to 9 did not bring major surprises in Asia, as Iraq qualified by defeating Bolivia in the final of the global playoff.
The absence of the Costa Rica team from the North, Central America and Caribbean federation is noteworthy after its presence in the last 3 editions, thus missing for the second time in the 21st century after the 2010 edition.
