World Cup '22: the eight teams you won't see

The world is slowly gearing up for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The 28-day tournament is the first of its kind in the Middle East. It will be held across eight stadiums from November 20th to December 18th.

The qualification period of the Cup has been completed. These are the 32 countries that will be fighting it out for the gold:

Argentina
Australia
Belgium
Brazil
Cameroon
Canada
Costa Rica
Croatia
Denmark
Ecuador
England
France
Germany
Ghana
Iran
Japan
Mexico
Morocco
the Netherlands
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
South Korea
Spain
Switzerland
Tunisia
Uruguay
the USA
Wales

8 big names will not be participating in the tournament, including current European champions and past World Cup winners Italy.

Colombia (Ranking 17)

A fan favourite many were hoping to see in Qatar. The national teams boasts a former World Cup Goldern Boot winner, James Rodriguez, and raving performance at the last two editions of the tournament.

The South Americans finished sixth in the CONMEBOL qualifiers – one point behind Peru. Peru then went to take the playoff spot after the top four teams earned automatic qualification.

Sweden (Ranking 20)

Sweden hosted the World Cup in 1958. Here, the team recorded its best result by reaching the final. But lost in a high-scoring match against Brazil. So far, they have been part of 12 world cups.

Their chance at playing in Qatar was wrecked when they lost 3 of 6 matched in the second leg of qualifiers. This resulted in them warring against Poland in the playoffs. The match was held in Poland and the home team played this to their full advantage. They snached a 2 point win, ending Sweden’s dreams of making it to Qatar.

Russia (Ranking 35)

The only team that was politically expulsed from the World Cup. FIFA announced their removal from all competitions after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Russia was surely hoping to build on their near victory back in 2018 when they reached the quarter-finals. The team’s history at the World Cup is split between its time as the Soviet Union and Russia. The latter, qualified for three world cups until 2014. Then, becoming the hosts in 2018 where they were knocked out on penalties.

Algeria (Ranking 37)

In a stunner match, Algeria was on the verge of qualifying for the Qatar 2022 tournament. They scored a late extra-time winner over Cameroon in their play-off tie.

Algeria was on the verge of making it to Qatar 2022 after scoring a late extra-time winner over Cameroon in their playoff tie. But Cameroon’s forward, Karl Toko Ekambi scored mere seconds before the final whistle – securing his country in the tournament.

The Algerian national team was left stunned and inconsolable while Cameroon celebrated their preliminary victory.

Egypt (Ranking 40)

Egypt has failed to pass the group stages in all three world cups it participated in. And this year was no different.

With the World Cup taking place in the Middle East and Mohamed Salah leading the team – Egypt would have greatly enjoyed their chance to qualify for the 2022 event. Back in 2018, Salah left disappointed as a shoulder injury left him not fully fit to play.

Nigeria (Ranking 31)

Nigeria’s dreams of playing in front of a large crowd were snuffed when they played against Ghana. In the second leg of the game, Ghana qualified for Qatar following an away goal.

The Super Eagles have been a fan favourite since their debut in 1994, due to their aggressive play-style and entertaining goal celebrations.

Chile (Ranking 29)

Chile first hosted the World Cup back in 1962 and finished third.

More recently, Chile reached the round-of-16 stage in 1998, 2010, and 2014. These matches were accompanied by stars like Gary Medel, Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal. However, as the performances of these players waned, Chile had a hard time getting favourable results.

They won but one of their last four qualifications matches for the World Cup 2022.

Italy (Ranking 6)

During the playoff semifinal in March, Italy missed out on securing a spot for themselves following a loss to North Macedonia. Many were surprised at their appearance in the playoffs given their Euro 2020 triumph and string of good results in the qualifying rounds ahead of the tournament.

In the next matched, they only won once and scored four draws. They placed second behind Switzerland securing a chance in the playoffs. But they failed to score and missed on their chance to impress at the World Cup for a second time.