With the teams going to the World Cup in Qatar finalized, many of us are counting down the days to watch the world’s greatest teams battle it out on the pitch. While some of us will be rooting for another team even if our country will not be represented. Others will have to cope in other ways!
Here are profiles of some of the teams that will not be going to the World Cup later this year and what some of their fans may be doing instead as the world watches the greatest soccer tournament every four years!
Italy
The biggest and most shocking absence from the 2022 World Cup will be the Italian National Team. They won the prestigious Euro Cup as recently as 2020, so it is indeed strange that they did not even make it through the World Cup qualifiers. As the sixth highest ranked team, according to
FIFA, they were contenders to win the whole tournament.
Italy failed to clinch their spot after losing to North Macedonia. They scored the clinching goal in the 92nd minute of the match, leaving Italy little room to equalize. Italy will now be missing out on their second World Cup in a row, having missed out in 2018 as well. That was the first time they failed to reach the World Cup since 1958.
Fans in Italy will still likely be tuning in to the tournament, as their biggest rivals will be likely to advance far in the tournament. France, Germany, Spain, and Brazil are all going to Qatar. In fact, they make up many of the favorites. Brazil, England, France, and Spain are the four favorites as we look forward to the tournament in a few months.
Nigeria
Nigeria did not make it to the World Cup this year. They have made six of the last eight World Cups, missing only 2022 and 2006, making this year an exception to the normal success of the Nigerian team. Their first appearance ever was in 1994, so we can note a clear upward trajectory, and should expect great things from this team in the coming years!
They are generally the most successful African team on the world stage. In 1994, Nigeria was ranked fifth in the FIFA rankings, making them the highest ranked African team ever. They have won the Africa Cup of Nations three times, with the latest win in 2013.
You can get the latest news about soccer in general, and the Nigerian team in particular, by checking in to the sports page at
Latest Nigerian News. They will gather the most current sports headlines from around the web and collate them for you there!
New Zealand
New Zealand was the last team to be excluded from the World Cup qualifiers. Costa Rica edged them out for the last remaining spot. It was a closer one! At one to zero, this match could have gone either way.
New Zealand really outperformed their FIFA ranking, so this would have been a beautiful upset. Ranked at 101, they should not have been able to come so close to beating Costa Rica, which is ranked at 31. Costa Rica is headed to their third straight World Cup. New Zealand last went to the World Cup in 2010.
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Qatar 2022
The World Cup in Qatar will be the first ever held in the Arab world, and the second one ever to be held entirely in Asia, following the South Korea World Cup in 2002. It will also be the last one to feature only 32 teams. The 2026 edition is envisioned as having 48 teams.
Maybe with the new format all of these teams would be going to Qatar. Whatever happens, this is sure to be a historic tournament for all the teams that did qualify!
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