Many of them represent top European clubs, making this a particularly painful miss for what could have been a defining moment in their careers.
Here are the 13 players set to miss the 2026 World Cup:
* Xavi Simons (Tottenham/Netherlands) – ACL injury
* Éder Militão (Real Madrid/Brazil) – Hamstring injury
* Estêvão (Chelsea/Brazil) – Hamstring injury
* Rodrygo (Real Madrid/Brazil) – ACL injury
* Hugo Ekitike (Liverpool/France) – Achilles tendon injury
* Juan Foyth (Villarreal/Argentina) – Achilles tendon injury
* Facundo Panichelli (Strasbourg/Argentina) – ACL injury
* Mohammed Salisu (Monaco/Ghana) – ACL injury
* Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham/Ghana) – Hamstring injury
* Takumi Minamino (Monaco/Japan) – ACL injury
* Wataru Endo (Liverpool/Japan) – Ankle injury
* Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich/Germany) – Muscle strain
* Luis Malagón (CF América/Mexico) – Achilles injury
