-
Analysis
- 2 hours ago
The 10 most valuable players not going to the 2026 World Cup
8 Jun 2026 17:04 BST |
9 min read
Analysis
The 2026 World Cup will be one of the most star-studded tournaments in history.
Superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal will take to the pitch for their respective countries, while this will be the last time we will see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, considered by many to be the two greatest players in history, grace the World Cup.
However, for a variety of reasons, there are plenty of extremely valuable players who won't be travelling to North America.
FootballTransfers uses our Estimated Transfer Value algorithm to determine a player's value, taking into account factors like age, performance level, club, length of contract and league.
For example, Lamine Yamal has an ETV of €171.2 million, making him the most valuable player on the planet.
Here are the 10 most valuable players who will not feature at the World Cup.
10. Alessandro Bastoni - Italy - €69.6m
Alessandro Bastoni was already being labelled Italy’s “most hated” player before his red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Zenica, where the Azzurri suffered a shock World Cup qualifying playoff defeat.
The controversy surrounding the 26-year-old stretches back to Inter’s February showdown with Juventus, when he appeared to engineer Pierre Kalulu’s dismissal by going down under minimal contact. The Bianconeri defender was shown a second yellow, leaving VAR unable to intervene.
As Kalulu furiously protested to the officials, Bastoni was seen celebrating the decision, a reaction that drew as much criticism as the incident itself.
A few months later, Bastoni led his country down by being sent off in such a crucial match, the World Cup playoff.
9. Xavi Simons - Netherlands - €71.8m
The Netherlands suffered a devastating blow towards the end of the Premier League season as Xavi Simons suffered an ACL injury while playing for Tottenham against Wolves.
While he had a poor individual season, and Spurs were a complete mess overall, Simons would have been a key player for the Dutch this summer, which tells its own story about the lack of depth Ronald Koeman has in this edition of the Netherlands squad.
"They say life can be cruel and today it feels that way," he wrote on social media.
"My season has come to an abrupt end and I’m just trying to process it. Honestly, I’m heartbroken. None of it makes sense.
"All I’ve wanted to do is fight for my team and now the ability to do that has been snatched away from me… along with the World Cup. Representing my country this summer…just gone. It’ll take time to find peace with this, but I’ll continue to be the best teammate I can be. I have no doubt that together we’ll win this fight.
"I’ll walk this path now, guided by faith, with strength, with resilience, with belief, as I count down the days to getting back out there. Be patient with me."
8. Leny Yoro - France - €71.9m
This one isn't a massive surprise as although he is valued high in our algorithm, Leny Yoro is still only 20 years old and France have more senior central defenders available.
He is captain of France Under-21s and hasn't even made his senior debut for Les Bleus, yet, so his inclusion would have come as a surprise.
Still, he's young, and Manchester United are improving at a steady rate so his time should come at a World Cup if he continues on his current trajectory.
7. Phil Foden - England - €75.3m
Thomas Tuchel named his 26-man England squad for the tournament in North America last week and there were a number of notable omissions like Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lewis Hall and Morgan Gibbs-White.
There's no doubt that Foden has not been himself over the last couple of seasons and that's reflected in the number of minutes he's managed since the Euros two years ago.
Heading into the European Championships, he was flying, coming off a Man City campaign in which he scored 27 goals, recorded 13 assists and played 4,276 minutes across all competitions.
In 2024/25 he had 20 goal contributions and played 2,993 minutes while in 2025/26, he had 17 goal contributions and played 3,048 minutes.
6. Joao Pedro - Brazil - €76m
Joao Pedro is one of the most unlucky players not to be selected for the World Cup as he is coming off a fine season with Chelsea in which he scored 20 goals and assisted a further nine in all competitions.
For Brazil and head coach Carlo Ancelotti, the narrative heading into the World Cup was dominated by Neymar and whether or not he'll be selected by the veteran Italian.
He was, and Pedro was the unfortunate victim, being left out, though the inclusion of youngster Endrick instead of him raised more eyebrows.
"As we've said before, playing soccer here is very complicated-a grueling schedule, travel, the heat-it's hard to compare," Ancelotti said, explaining his selections.
"Then there are the players' individual characteristics. Of course, we're sad about João Pedro. Given the season he had in Europe, he probably deserved to be on this list, but, unfortunately, with all due awareness and respect, we chose another player. I'm sorry for João Pedro and everyone else."
5. Victor Osimhen - Nigeria - €76.7m
Every neutral World Cup fan wants to see Nigeria at the tournament due to the nostalgic memories of their magical kits and players over the years.
Victor Osimhen is the biggest star in the Nigeria squad and one of the best centre-forwards in the world but he and the rest of his team-mates won't be in North America due to a failure to qualify
The Super Eagles finished second in their initial qualifying group and then defeated Gabon comfortably in a playoff semi-final, but choked in the final as they were defeated on penalties by DR Congo.
Their World Cup qualifying campaign was marred by threats of a boycott from the players due to unpaid bonuses.
4. Fermin Lopez - Spain - €80.3m
Fermin Lopez definitely would have been called up for the Spain squad but is another victim of timing and injury issues as he fractured his metatarsal in Barcelona's 3-1 victory over Real Betis in the middle of May.
He would have been a key member of the squad, too, due to his ability to play pretty much anywhere along the frontline and even in midfield.
With Spain not really having a top-level centre-forward to call upon, he would have received minutes in that role but he'll have to watch on from the sidelines.
The day after the injury, he underwent a successful operation, though a return date hasn't been mentioned.
3. Hugo Ekitike - France - €89.2m
France are blessed with the best attacking roster in the tournament, with Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele joined by Kylian Mbappe, Desire Doue and Michael Olise.
It is unlikely that Hugo Ekitike would have been a starter for Les Bleus, but he would have been a useful rotation option for Didier Deschamps, while his absence is devastating for him personally.
Alexander Isak was injured most of Liverpool's season which meant Ekitike shouldered a lot of the goalscoring responsibility of the Reds which he seemed to enjoy, having enjoyed a fine first campaign.
However, he was cruelly ruled out of the World Cup after suffering from a ruptured Achilles that will keep him out of action until next year, most likely.
2. Cole Palmer - England - €98m
A year ago it would have been unthinkable that Palmer wouldn't make the England squad for the 2026 World Cup but that's how drastic the drop in his performance levels has been.
Chelsea, as a whole, have been a mess this season, with Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior both sacked before Xabi Alonso was announced as the new coach for next season. But, Palmer hasn't really helped the cause as a drop in fitness and niggling injuries have impacted his ability to affect games.
In the 2024/25 season, he played 3,200 Premier League minutes and recorded 24 goal contributions, while this past campaign he played 1,965 minutes and recorded 11 goal contributions.
He's lost a yard, as they say, which doesn't mean he can't get back to his very best if he gets a summer off, which he probably desperately needs.
This will hurt in the short-term but will undoubtedly benefit him in the long-term.
1. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - Georgia - €98.3m
It is a crying shame that one of the world's best players and possibly the most entertaining player in the world, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, will not appear at the tournament.
Since moving to Paris Saint-Germain 18 months ago he has lit up European football and helped the French giants to two Champions League triumphs in a row.
However, he'll be watching the tournament at home after Georgia suffered from a very disappointing qualifying campaign in which they finished third in their group behind Spain and Turkiye.
A tough group, indeed, but they only won one out of their six matches and conceded 15 goals, while the Nations League path was not achieved either because they finished third in that group, too.
He runs the risk of becoming another George Best or Ryan Giggs - a mercurial winger who never plays at the World Cup.
Related stories:
Build The FIFA World Cup 2026™: LEGO© releases stunning football-inspired collection
World Cup 2026 squads: The complete list of every player at the tournament
World Cup 2026: Full match schedule, fixtures and stadiums
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
