A World Cup without Italy, still hurts. Even if there have been two World Cups before when they missed, to get used to the feeling. A 48-team World Cup it might be, with new jazzy tiny, dot island teams to gloat, but some of the old failed, faded staples, who missed out on qualification to Mexico-USA-Canada will be missed. Here are the reasons: ITALY That azure-blue jersey. Those Italian players pleading to refs with their 🤌🏻 emoji-talking hands. The non-sly defensive backlines. The gloriously creative, brooding midfielders. The gloriously ineffective forwards – remember Luca Toni? The post-Buffon gaping hole in goal. What’s not to miss? POLAND Robert Lewandowski of course. But just the stubborn effort to utter those unpronouncable names for two weeks atleast – Włodzimierz Smolarek, Paweł Kryszałowicz, Emmanuel Olisadebe, Marcin Żewłakow, Bartosz Bosacki, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Jan Bednarek, Piotr Zieliński. Just when that last name was getting easy to say, Poland decides to not qualify. They had Aston Villa’s Patty Cash this time. But your loss – you will not be labouring over saying Oskar Pietuszewski or Przemyslaw Wisniewski this time. NIGERIA They have the most goals scored by an African nation in FIFA WC history – 23. But fragments of Nigeria – players of Nigeria origin are playing for England, USA, Switzerland, Canada, Germany, France, Austria, Norway. The colour, flair and stomp the Falcons got to 1994, 1998, 2014 when they made quarters will be missed. But more than anything, arguably the best World Cup jerseys will be pined after — the green ones celebrating their independence from colonizers Britain when they had to wear red. The Nike design with falcon wings on sleeves was iconic, but the green-white, black-white Chevrons jersey will be conspicuous by absence in 2026. CAMEROON How did Cameroon with 8 FIFA WC appearances miss out? Just the other day, they were beating Brazil in the 2022 pools in Qatar, after making history beating Argentina in 1990 to make quarters. What will be missed is players of quality of Roger Milla, Samuel Eto’o and the rollercoaster for Vincent Aboubakar. Packed off by Cabo Verde and Congo in the 2026 qualification cycle, Cameroon will not be around. Neither will their pragmatic attempt at wearing sleeveless jerseys, that FIFA struck down by forcing black sleeves after African Cup of Nations in 2002. ICELAND They were only around at 2018. But saving a penalty against Lionel Messi is just the sort of thing a FIFA WC can do with – a volcano in ice-nation vibe. For that, Hannes Por Halldorson, the goalkeeping legend securing a 1-1 draw will be missed. It’s been 10 years since Iceland beat England at Euros, followed by the ‘Thunder Clap’ (“Huh!” followed by two claps). The Viking buzz packing off England – 2026, you knownot what you missed. CHILE Chile have for eternity denied a coastline to Bolivia and Argentina with their impressive bull-headed geography if you stare at the map of South America. But alongwith Peru to their north, their football team has been denied a World Cup qualification for a a dozen years now, as their performances plummet.Story continues below this ad Italy are not the only team to miss out on the World Cup a third straight time in 2026. Also flaking off are Chile. The second oldest Federation from South America, a founder of CONMEBOL, their fade out is gradual since third place in 1962. Eduardo Vargas, Jorge Valdivia, and Alexis Sanchez might be the last memories of the Chile’s downswing or Pepper-taper.
Poland’s tongue-twisting names, Nigeria jerseys, Italy’s Italy-ness: what we will miss at FIFA 2026
