The footballing fervor is inching closer as we speak. The passion and heated rivalries have begun in multiple places across the globe. Participating in World Cup is a very big deal for every footballing association. However, the World Cup and football set a diverse tone every four years. Eight Teams who were present in the final 32 of Russia 2018 failed to qualify for the Middle Eastern Tourney, Qatar 2022.
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Russia
The hosts of 2018 themselves are the biggest names set to miss the World Cup. The Russians are banned from FIFA International Competitions since their invasion of Ukraine. Russia qualified for the playoffs/second round after finishing second in their group. Russia was drawn against Poland but the match was canceled and Russians miss Qatar 2022
Nigeria
Argentina’s World Cup Rival Nigeria as of now is not making the final cut. Nigeria topped their group in the second round with 13 points. In the third round, they were drawn with Ghana. The Ghanaians defeated the Nigerians in the third round. The Ghana and Nigeria matches both ended in a draw. The first one was goalless while the second was 1-1. On away goal rule, Ghana qualified for the World Cup.
Peru
Peru, which is a prominent member of CONMEBOL, qualified fifth in the CONMEBOL Qualifications. The fifth-place finish earned them an inter-confederation play-off. Peru met Australia of AFC. The Socceroos defeated the Peruvians in the penalty shoot-out. The match remained goalless even in extra time. In the penalties, Australia fired 5 into the net while Peru missed a couple. Thus, Peru failed to qualify for Qatar 2022 on the very last step.
Egypt
Mohammed Salah is one of the biggest footballers in the present global scenario who is missing the World Cup. The Egyptians, similar to Nigeria, topped their group in the second round of the CAF World Cup Qualification. Subsequently, Egypt was drawn against Senegal in the third round. The Egyptians won the first leg 1-0 but lose by the same margin in the second leg. In the penalty shootout, The Senegalese took charge meeting 3 while the Egyptians settled 1.
Panama
The CONCACAF Qualification involved eight nations in the third round. From eight, the first three qualified for the World Cup and the fourth earned an inter-confederation play-off. Panama managed to get 21 points from 14 fixtures. The points fell short and Panama finished in the fifth position.
Colombia
The Colombians were an integral part of the 2014 World Cup and rose to global fame post that. The team failed to qualify for Qatar 2022. In the CONMEBOL Qualification, Colombia finished sixth in the table with 23 points. They thus missed the inter-confederation play-off quota. Colombia could have qualified if Byron Castillo’s issue proved to be a grim reaper for Ecuador.
Sweden
Ibrahimovic and his squad fell short of a World Cup. The Swedes qualified second in their group behind Spain in the first round with 15 points from a max of 24. They moved to the second round where they met the Czech Republic. they defeated the Czechs1 1-0 in extra time. Subsequently, in the final round, The Swedes played Poland. Poland defeated Sweden 2-0 and entered the World Cup
Iceland
The Icelanders were a surprise induction in the World Cup of 2018. They became the smallest nation by population to clinch a FIFA World Cup Berth. However, the highs of the 2010s did not pass on to the 2020s. The Boys of Iceland were drawn into Group J alongside Germany, and North Macedonia. They failed to finish in the top two and were ousted from the World Cup.
