Five Italians in top 10 - The most valuable players that will miss out on the 2026 World Cup

Playing in the World Cup is the pinnacle of any footballer's career, but not every player is fortunate enough to get the chance to do it. Every four years, nations and millions of fans come together for the biggest sports event on the planet, and in June, the United States, Mexico and Canada prepare to host the historic 48-team tournament across all three countries. Unfortunately, for some of the sport's biggest names, the closest they will come to experiencing that World Cup buzz this summer is likely to be at home in front of their televisions.

In the UEFA section, the first to fall short of the final hurdle were Greece, Hungary, Georgia and Serbia, while African powerhouses Nigeria and Cameroon suffered shock exits in the CAF group stage. Then, on Tuesday night, even more drama struck as Poland, Denmark and Italy all failed to win their one-off games to reach this summer's tournament. Italy's defeat to Bosnia & Herzegovina on penalties now means that the European giants will miss three consecutive World Cups for the first time in the nation's history. But which MVPs will join them in missing out?

The most valuable player among those to miss out is Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai, who captained Hungary during their qualifying campaign. The 26-year-old was recently awarded a sizeable upgrade for his impressive performances with the Reds this season and has a market value of €100 million. Behind him is PSG's wing wizard Khivcha Kvaratskhelia, who is valued at €90 million. In joint-third place are Manchester United forward Bryan Mbuemo and Newcastle box-to-box talent Sandro Tonali, who both sit on market values of €80m each. Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen claims fifth spot on the list and is the most valuable striker to miss out on the summer tournament with a market value of €75m.

As we can see, the rest of the top 10 is made up of late additions following Tuesday night's drama. No less than five Italian players make the top 10, with Alessandro Bastoni, Riccardo Calafiori and Federico Dimarco joining Tonali, while Rasmus Højlund sneaks into the top spots as the sole representative of Denmark's defeat to the Czech Republic. Man Utd and Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko takes seventh place due to his market value of €65m.

Even with the expanded tournament stretching to 48 teams, some big nations failed to advance from their respective qualifying groups. Of course, upsets are part of what makes football such an unpredictable and fascinating sport. And for every big name missing out, it means a new team such as Cape Verde or Albania get their chance to debut at the World Cup. But for the likes of Szoboszlai and Osimhen, having to wait another four years for their chance to come around again is a bitter pill to swallow.