With the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the books, we start looking ahead to another qualification process that will see the new 48-team final format take form for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The UEFA, AFA and CONMEBOL qualifiers already have a set date to start, with the European qualification scheduled to start in 2025, and the Asian and South American qualifiers set to start this year.
The various nations must field teams and compete against the other participants in their designated group in order to qualify. FIFA, the organizing body, assigns the nations to the groups. Obviously, the countries must be FIFA members in order to take part in the World Cup qualifying round.
The pinnacle of a professional international career is earning a spot in the World Cup, but hundreds of national teams have yet to realize this dream. Some nations find it nearly impossible to try to qualify despite the expansion to 32 teams and the upcoming increase to 48 in 2026.
The opportunity to witness the world’s greatest players compete for a major championship at a World Cup is priceless, but the number of nations who have not yet qualified for the tournament greatly outnumber those that have. There are 134 teams that have never advanced to the World Cup finals as of right now. Increasing the number of participants may not only improve the representation of nations, but also impact the expectations of the audience, especially those who bet on the outcomes through special promotions, such as the Parimatch bonus code.
UEFA and CONMEBOL have historically dominated World Cup qualifying, with the former receiving 13 qualifying berths for the 2022 competition. With only four tournament debuts since 2006, the established order has not shifted considerably in recent years despite the modifications to the World Cup qualifying processes.
In this article, we present some of the countries that have had the most attempts to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals but failed to do so.
Luxembourg
With 20 qualifying efforts, the football team from Luxembourg has made the most tries on this list. The first effort was made in 1934, just following the inaugural World Cup, and the most recent attempt was made in 2018. One of the reasons they have consistently failed to qualify is because they lack star players with stellar experience who can inspire the team when they need it most.
The strikes have also been completely ineffective. They were only able to total eight goals in their most recent 2018 effort at FIFA qualification. It is unlikely that Luxembourg will take part in the World Cup finals anytime soon given these troubling trends, which date back to their very first attempt.
Finland
The national football team of Finland is ranked second on this list, having made one fewer attempt than the Luxembourg national team. Finland may have discovered the answer to their qualifying issues in the 2000s after choosing Roy Hodgson as their manager. Roy guided the Nordic team to their best-ever 30th place finish. Unfortunately, they have never been able to surpass this ranking.
They might have a chance of qualifying if they are able to pursue another elite manager. They should only look to underdogs like Iceland in the 2018 World Cup finals for motivation.
Syria
Syria, with 14 qualifying attempts, is a surprise inclusion on this list. Despite the nation’s political unrest, the most recent one happened in 2018. The fact that 2018 was the year they came the closest to qualifying for the finals is even more astounding.
After they were barred from playing home games within the nation, the war even threatened to derail their qualification attempts. If Malaysia had not offered to host them, they would have been eliminated.
Zambia
Of all the African nations, this team has made the most attempts – 13. They have never qualified for the World Cup despite making three appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations and winning it once in 2012. Zambia may possibly qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2026, though, since the team has recently displayed encouraging qualification signals.