Qualifying for the World Cup is a major accomplishment for any nation, but only 32 can do it. Fans who have not followed the qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup and the FIFA world cup 2022 predictions may be startled to find that the current European champions and four-time winners of the World Cup, Italy, will not be participating.
Here is a list of the top teams in the FIFA global rankings that did not qualify for Qatar 2022 and the greatest players that will not be participating.
Super Eagles of Nigeria
Nigeria will likely never win the World Cup, but after reaching the quarterfinals in six of the last seven tournaments, they will be one of the biggest disappointments in Qatar.
As they are commonly known, the Super Eagles had to play Ghana in a two-legged playoff to qualify for the main event. However, the first game finished in a 0-0 draw, and the second leg in a 1-1 draw. This resulted in Ghana advancing due to their away goals.
1994 saw Nigeria’s first World Cup appearance. Due to how they played the game and celebrated goals, they were an instant fan favorite.
According to FIFA, Nigeria is ranked 30th, making it the third-best African country. Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Kelechi Iheanacho are among the players who will not be in Qatar for the World Cup.
Chile
Chile is one quality South American team that has struggled in recent years.
Since the inaugural World Cup in 1930, Chile has participated. In 1962, they hosted the competition and placed third.
Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal lack the prowess to continue representing their nation, failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
La Roja advanced to the tournament’s round of 16 in 2014 and 2018, displaying an exciting style of play and a wealth of quality, but they failed to do so in Qatar.
Their qualification campaign was a major letdown. The 2016 Copa America champions failed to make the top five in qualifying, winning only five of their 18 games.
Egypt
Egypt desired to qualify for the World Cup in 2022. It would have been staged in the Middle East, Mohamed Salah would have commanded the team, and there are many Egyptian expatriates in Qatar.
The Pharaohs are ranked 34th worldwide and have won seven Africa Cup of Nations championships, including this year’s runner-up finish. They qualified for the final round of playoffs by winning four of their six qualifying matches and finishing top in their group.
Sadio Mane and Senegal defeated Mohamed Salah and Egypt in the last round of African qualifying for the World Cup. The Senegalese prevailed on penalties over two legs in what seemed like a rematch of the AFCON championship match.
Egypt has never advanced past the group stage in its three World Cup appearances. Salah could not fully participate in the 2018 event due to a shoulder injury.
Italy
Italy is the biggest nation not traveling in Qatar. The most recent FIFA global ranking, released on August 25, ranks Italy sixth. Then why did it fail?
After losing to Sweden in the playoffs the previous year, Italy won Euro 2020 at Wembley with a world-record 37-game unbeaten streak. However, because they could not defeat Switzerland and Northern Ireland, they did not automatically qualify for this year’s tournament.
In the semi-final of the playoffs, they were pitted against a minor nation known as North Macedonia. Aleksandar Trajkovski’s game-winning goal in the 92nd minute ended their chances of qualifying.
A win would have put them in the final against Portugal, another major European nation. Still, they played poorly against their eastern European opponents and lost 1-0 after Aleksandar Trajkovski scored the game-winning goal in the game’s dying minutes.
Even though they performed well at Euro 2020 last year and had a string of successful qualifying games leading up to the event, their presence in the playoffs was unexpected.
After failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2018, Italy’s chances of qualifying in 2022 were severely diminished.
Thus, the highly anticipated final play-off match between Italy and Portugal did not take place.
Many of Italy’s top players, including Ciro Immobile, Marco Verratti, Jorginho, and others, will not participate in the World Cup in Qatar.
