Premier League Star Squad Misses 2026 World Cup: Manchester United and Liverpool Dominate the Numbers

With the 48 spots for the 2026 World Cup confirmed, numerous Premier League stars are saddened by their absence from the tournament in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. Manchester United and Liverpool have the largest contingent.

Goalkeeper: Donnarumma (Manchester City, Italy)

Donnarumma is the most regretful as Italy misses the World Cup for the third consecutive time. He failed to save any penalties against Bosnia, leading Italy to miss out on the USA, Mexico, and Canada. This goalkeeper, born in 1999, debuted for the national team at age 16 but has yet to play in a World Cup.

Defenders: Cash (Aston Villa, Poland), Collins (Brentford, Ireland), Calafiori (Arsenal, Italy), Kerkez (Liverpool, Hungary)

Calafiori shares the same fate as Donnarumma, and the Arsenal defender was criticized for a poor performance against Bosnia. Cash's situation is equally painful as his Poland conceded a decisive goal to Sweden in the final minutes of the playoff final.

Collins of Brentford earned the penalty that Troy Parrott converted for the opening goal in the playoff against Czech Republic. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for Ireland to return to the World Cup after 24 years, as Collins and his teammates lost in the penalty shootout.

Kerkez's story seems less sorrowful as Hungary's fate was determined earlier. Collins' Ireland itself took away Hungary's playoff spot by defeating them in the final match of Group F in the 2026 European World Cup qualifiers.

Midfielders: Mbeumo (Manchester United, Cameroon), Tonali (Newcastle, Italy), Szoboszlai (Liverpool, Hungary), Wilson (Fulham, Wales), Dorgu (Manchester United, Denmark)

Despite scoring 4 goals for Cameroon in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Mbeumo had to reluctantly watch as a spectator. Cameroon finished behind Cape Verde, a team making its first World Cup appearance, in their group. Mbeumo and his teammates had a chance to redeem themselves in the playoffs but lost 0-1 to Congo in the semifinal.

Tonali both scored and assisted in Italy's victory over Northern Ireland in the playoff semifinal. Unfortunately, only the Newcastle midfielder successfully converted his penalty in the final shootout against Bosnia, so he misses the 2026 World Cup. Szoboszlai's case is regrettable, but he and Kerkez still have plenty of time to help Hungary pursue their World Cup dream in the next edition four years later.

Wilson, a rising star at Fulham, also couldn't hide his pain when Wales was defeated by Bosnia in the semifinal via a penalty shootout. Dorgu couldn't help Denmark reach the USA, Canada, and Mexico. Denmark managed to equalize twice against Czech Republic but ultimately lost in the penalty shootout.

Forward: Sesko (Manchester United, Slovenia).

The third Manchester United player on the list who must watch the 2026 World Cup from home is Sesko. Sesko and Slovenia's story is simply due to very poor results in a group with opponents like Sweden, Switzerland, and Kosovo. Sesko himself failed to score in his 4 qualifying appearances. At just 22 years old, there is still ample time for him and Slovenia to focus on future World Cup qualifying campaigns.