A brilliant XI of players brutally left out of 2026 World Cup squads | OneFootball

Superstar names from Liverpool, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea are among the most eye-catching snubs from World Cup squads this summer.

Great players, including the likes of Xavi Simons, Rodrygo, Hugo Ekitike, Willian Estevao, and Kaoru Mitoma are among those who will heartbreakingly miss the tournament due to injury, but others simply haven’t been fancied by their national team managers.

We’ve put together a full XI of players who have been brutally overlooked for the 2026 World Cup.

GK: Brandon Petersen

The first name on this teamsheet was always going to be the most difficult spot to fill. With three ‘keeper slots for every squad, there aren’t many high-profile names left out.

There aren’t any cases of any major fallings out with superstars, as with Thibaut Courtois sitting out the last Euros. You’ve got the likes of Nick Pope, Lucas Chevalier and Robert Sanchez sitting at home this summer, but we’d struggle to argue the toss that those are particularly scandalous omissions.

So we thought we’d use this spot to highlight a lesser-known name away from the spotlight of elite European football.

The omission of Petersen from Hugo Broos’ Bafana Bafana squad has caused something of a stir in South Africa after a (by all accounts) excellent season with the Kaizer Chiefs.

RB: Jeremie Frimpong

“I would like Memphis to join, he has a big role in the team,” the Liverpool right-back recently told reporters.

‘I don’t really need to say much because you know how much he scores and how important he is in big tournaments. So I really hope he joins because he can really help the team.”

He got his wish… Memphis Depay has been included in Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands squad. But Frimpong himself has missed out. Awkward.

A special mention, too, for the man Frimpong replaced at Liverpool. Trent Alexander-Arnold can’t even make it into the snubbed XI – ouch.

In fairness, this team is already heavy with England/Real Madrid representation, and we thought we’d shake things up a bit.

CB: Harry Maguire

“I was confident I could of played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had,” Maguire posted on social media, confirming his absence before Thomas Tuchel’s squad announcement.

“I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision. I’ve loved nothing more than putting that shirt on and representing my country over the years. I wish the players, all the best this summer.”

We’ll give Maguire a pass for expressing his emotions honestly, given his years of service for England, but his whole family and their dog chipping in with their thoughts (“absolutely disgusted”, says his mum) was the kind of unedifying spectacle we could’ve done without.

CB: Dean Huijsen

You won’t find any clearer evidence of Andoni Iraola’s genius than three of last season’s Bournemouth back four going to the giants of Real Madrid, PSG and Liverpool… only for the Cherries to actually improve.

Like Iliya Zabarnyi and Milos Kerkez, Huijsen has struggled with the step up.

He made a promising start at Real Madrid, talked up as the future of Spain’s backline as a thoroughly modern ball-playing centre-back, but it’s been a stark and concerning drop-off in 2026.

The Amsterdam-born centre-back has played seven times under current boss Luis de la Fuente, but he was left out in favour of Barcelona’s Eric Garcia.

It’s 8-0 to Barcelona in terms of representatives in the Spain squad, as the Catalan sports dailies revelled in pointing out.

It’s the first time in history that a Spanish World Cup squad has zero representatives from Real Madrid.

LB: Alvaro Carreras

A similar story to Huijsen.

In the early weeks of the 2025-26 campaign, not only did Carreras look like a shoo-in for La Roja’s World Cup squad but he might genuinely battle for Marc Cucurella’s starting spot.

The Manchester United academy graduate made an excellent start to life in the Spanish capital after moving from Benfica last summer, but he struggled badly as Los Blancos’ campaign hit the skids.

He was given an absolutely torrid time by Michael Olise in their Champions League quarter-final defeat to Bayern Munich.

It’ll be interesting to see how he kicks on from here.

DM: Adam Wharton

“Adam Wharton has a nation longing for an ill-timed twanging hamstring among Tuchel’s 26,” was the standout tweet in the wake of Crystal Palace’s Conference League final victory.

Germany legend Lothar Matthaus, working as a commentator, was among those bowled over by his performance in Leipzig.

Declan Rice used that trophy as a springboard towards a brilliant career, becoming an England mainstay, and we can see Wharton following that same trajectory.

We don’t have many major issues with Thomas Tuchel’s final squad. There are some wonderfully talented footballers left behind, but we’re big fans of the – long overdue? – logic of picking the most suitable men for a specific system, as opposed to the simplicity of just choosing the best players.

Where we would quibble is how Wharton doesn’t fit into said plan. There arguably isn’t another English midfielder who can boast his passing range and composure on the ball.

Portugal and Spain’s midfields ought to be the envy of the world; without Wharton, it’s difficult to envisage England setting the tempo and playing with that degree of control.

That could be decisive in a hot, humid summer tournament.

CM: Eduardo Camavinga

The introduction of Camavinga helped swing momentum back in France’s direction in the last World Cup final, but he won’t have any role to play this time around.

At one time, it looked as though Camavinga was the future of both Real Madrid and France’s midfields.

But he’s failed to lay down a marker following the departures of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, while Didier Deschamps continues leaning on the old guard of Adrien Rabiot and N’Golo Kante.

Camavinga undoubtedly possesses bags of talent and has made himself useful as a utility man, but after hundreds of games we’re still left questioning exactly what he is and where he fits in best.

Still, he’s only 23 and has plenty of time to bounce back from this setback. We can see Zinedine Zidane taking a shine to him.

CM: Mateus Fernandes

Alright, back-to-back relegations with different clubs isn’t exactly ideal for your CV.

And Portugal probably have the most stacked midfield at the tournament, with Vitinha, Joao Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Neves a quite simply outrageous array of options for Roberto Martinez to pick from.

It did raise an eyebrow, though, to see Mallorca’s Samu Costa – who has also just suffered a relegation – given the nod ahead of Fernandes.

He looks quality; surely capable of thriving in a team that doesn’t look hopelessly dysfunctional.

FWR: Karim Adeyemi

A couple of years back, Borussia Dortmund gave Real Madrid an almighty fright in the Champions League final.

For the first hour or so, the heavy favourites couldn’t cope with the electric pace of the young Adeyemi, who appeared destined to become Dortmund’s next big-money sale and a serious asset for Julian Nagelsmann’s national team.

He’s simply not kicking on as expected, and this season has struggled badly for form and fitness. Given that, his absence is no great shock, but there’s an alternate universe in which he’s heading into the tournament as one of Nagelsmann’s brightest hopes.

ST: Joao Pedro

If there’s an objective measure of how surprising this omission was, the Chelsea striker appearing in Panini’s iconic World Cup sticker book is probably it.

“Of course, we are sad for Joao Pedro,” Ancelotti explained, sounding almost sheepish, after being directly pressed on why he chose Neymar – who hasn’t been capped in almost three years – over Joao Pedro.

“For the season he had in Europe, he probably deserved to be on this list, but unfortunately, with all possible awareness and respect, we chose another player. I feel very sorry for Joao Pedro and all the others.”

The fact that Neymar has suffered yet another injury setback, ruling him out of Brazil’s pre-tournament friendlies and putting him in doubt for their opener, is already evidence that the decision may not age well. Watch this space.

FWL: Mika Godts

Kevin De Bruyne, Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku are still clinging on from Belgium’s Golden Generation, but some fresh talent has emerged.

We were amazed to see Godts left out of Belgium’s squad. The 20-year-old Ajax winger looks an immensely exciting prospect, possessing an X factor that could make all the difference off the bench in a tight and tense knockout clash.

Godts is still relatively inexperienced, only making his international debut in the last break back in March, but he looks more than ready to us.