By Gabriel Mills
With this summer’s FIFA World Cup in North America kicking off on June 11, managers have named their 26-player squads ahead of the tournament.
Several well-known footballing names have missed out, including those who have suffered untimely injuries and those who have been overlooked by their national coaches.
For the strongest countries like England, Brazil, Spain and France, big-name absentees are almost guaranteed – but some still come as a shock to fans.
As the opening match of the 23rd World Cup is nearing and excitement continues to build, here are five of the biggest and most important players who did not make the cut.
Cole Palmer – England
England are blessed with a startling number of fantastic attacking midfielders, meaning big-name absentees were guaranteed.
However, if you’d have told England fans in 2024 that neither Phil Foden nor Cole Palmer would make the next World Cup squad, they would almost be in disbelief.
Foden, Palmer and Morgan Gibbs-White miss out this summer – with the latter the most shocking following his equalising goal in the 2024 Euro final against Spain.
It is important to look at the players who have been selected over the Chelsea man, with Jude Bellingham expected to start and Morgan Rogers there as deputy.
Form struggles and injury issues have blighted Palmer’s season, while Rogers has been a key part of Aston Villa’s fourth-place finish and Europa League triumph.
There is also a question mark over the 24-year-old’s need for surgery due to an ongoing groin issue – another likely reason for his omission.
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Xavi Simons – Netherlands
Despite a difficult first season with Tottenham Hotspur following his £51 million move from RB Leipzig, there is no doubt that Simons would have been a key part of his nation’s World Cup side.
A heartbreaking ACL injury struck the Dutchman with just four matches remaining of the season.
It was a slow start to life in the Premier League but flashes of brilliance reminded fans of exactly what Simons was capable of – his long-range strike against Brighton in a 2-2 draw best summed this up.
For his country, the 23-year-old has already left his mark, playing in every game of Euro 2024.
Two assists in the Netherlands’ round of 16 tie before a worldie in the semi-final against England showed a step up onto the biggest stage.
His ability to play in an attacking midfield role or out on the right wing would have been valuable for his country this summer.
As it is, you have to feel for the youngster after a tough season was capped off with a horrific injury.
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João Pedro – Brazil
When you score 20 goals, assist nine and finish the season as Chelsea’s top scorer, you can largely expect that you will be part of your national team’s squad.
For João Pedro, however, it did not work out that way.
While there are reasons behind Chelsea team-mate Palmer’s omission, Pedro’s is far more puzzling.
Brazil are very rarely short on talented forward players but when Estêvão and Rodrygo were both ruled out because of injury, Pedro would have been a safe bet to make the squad.
Selecao boss Carlo Ancelotti instead opted for the romanticised selection of Neymar in his squad despite the Santos winger having injury troubles.
Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli was also picked following his lowest total league minutes in a campaign since 2020/21.
Martinelli is a wider, more traditional winger as opposed to Pedro who is best as a centre forward or number 10.
Ancelotti also opted for Matheus Cunha who is similar in many ways to Pedro – there is little to split the two based on their performance levels this season.
Whichever way you look at it, not taking Pedro to the World Cup this summer is a very controversial decision.
Kaoru Mitoma – Japan
In a famous 1-0 win over England at Wembley in March, Japan showcased their ability to defeat the biggest nations using defensive rigidity and fast-paced counter attacks.
This was spearheaded by Brighton’s talented winger Kaoru Mitoma.
Although the 28-year-old has failed to replicate his returns from last campaign, he remains one of the league’s most dangerous and direct dribblers.
This paired perfectly with Japan’s set-up as the side routinely digs in and patiently waits for attacking opportunities on the break.
Unfortunately for Mitoma and his country, he suffered a hamstring injury in what was Brighton’s third-to-last league match of the season.
His club have confirmed he has undergone successful surgery but the timing could not have been worse.
This will be a huge miss for Japan after remarkable qualification performances.
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Hugo Ekitike – France
While Liverpool’s title defence has been pathetic after a dominant campaign in 2024/25, their new French striker has been outstanding.
His transfer was overshadowed by Alexander Isak’s record-breaking £125m move but following a lengthy injury to the Swede, Ekitike has stepped up for Liverpool.
Averaging a goal every 160 minutes last season was impressive on its own, but watching him play was a pure delight – comparisons to Fernando Torres were immediately made.
The 23-year-old has the ability to drop deep and link the play as well as glide past opponents with ease while being devastatingly clinical when given a scoring chance.
Many non-Liverpool fans are huge admirers of Ekitike, which makes his injury in April desperately unfortunate.
During the second leg of their Champions League clash with PSG, the Frenchman suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.
This instantly ruled him out for the remainder of the season, the World Cup and the opening months of the next season.
For France, Ekitike is still in the early stages of his international career having only managed eight caps so far, scoring twice and assisting once.
With Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé, the World Cup 2022 runners-up have plenty of world-class forwards to fall back on, but Ekitike would have been a big part of the squad.
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