Top 5 Nations That Failed to Qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2022
#5: Nigeria
After making it into the tournament for the first time in 1994, Nigeria has been one of Africa’s biggest powerhouses on the iconic stage. Beyond missing out on the tournament in 2006, hopes were high for the 2022 edition. Especially with a squad featuring Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi, and Alex Iwobi. But that all fell apart in the third round of CAF qualification when they were drawn against Ghana. The first leg ended in a nil-nil draw, leaving everything up for grabs in the second leg. But with Ghana’s Thomas Partey opening the scoring, Nigeria responded with a penalty from captain William Troost-Ekong. And the match finished one-all, putting Ghana through on away goals.
#4: Chile
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Fun fact: Chile appeared in the first ever World Cup in 1930. They also hosted it in 1962, and finished in third place. But since then, Chile's entrance into the World Cup has been spotty. Yet with a team featuring legendary players like Arturo Vidal and Alexis Sánchez, plus fresh faces like Ben Brereton Díaz, it seemed like the squad would find their way onto the plane to Qatar. Especially as they were ranked 17th in the FIFA world rankings. But inconsistent performances in qualification ruined hopes. The team suffered surprise losses to Venezuela and Ecuador. On top of that, Chile also failed to beat a lowly ranked Bolivia team.
#3: Sweden
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In World Cup history, Sweden has finished in third twice and were runner-ups in 1958. And after being a hit at the 2018 tournament, it seemed like the Scandinavian squad would be there in 2022. But the pressure was on as this would likely be the last time the iconic Zlatan Ibrahimović would appear at the World Cup. Sweden comfortably advanced to the next round of qualification after beating the Czech Republic. But against a tricky Poland team in the final, goals from Robert Lewandowski and Piotr Zieliński sunk the Scandinavians, forcing them to change their end of year plans.
#2: Colombia
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After making the quarter-finals in 2014 and the knockout stages in 2018, the South American side was ready to take things to the next level, the 2022 World Cup. With stars like Radamel Falcao, James Rodríguez, and Juan Cuadrado, this Colombia team seemed like they had all the potential to make an impression. Instead, they struggled with CONMEBOL qualification. They struggled to finish sides off and had to settle for way too many draws. They even got hammered by Ecuador six-one. But there was still a chance for the team to squeeze through. On the final day of fixtures, Colombia had to do better than Peru to advance. While they beat Venezuela, Peru won against Paraguay, meaning Colombia was out by a single point. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Egypt
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Russia
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Norway
Even a Squad Featuring Erling Håland Wasn’t Enough for Them to Advance From Their Group
#1: Italy
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Having failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, Italy was in a rebuilding stage, and things were looking up. After all, they’re a four-time World Cup winner. They should be at the tournament. But then, in a group they should’ve won – at least on paper – the European nation came second. And they were probably rubbing their hands in glee when they saw they had North Macedonia in the play-off semi-final. After all, Italy was a team filled with talents like Gianluigi Donnarumma, Ciro Immobile, and Leonardo Bonucci. On top of that, before this battle, Italy was ranked 6th in the world, while North Macedonia was 67th. Instead, the nation shockingly lost to an Aleksandar Trajkovski goal.
