We now have the final groups for the 2026 World Cup after last night’s play-off results as Italy will once again be absent from the world’s biggest international tournament.Despite winning the World Cup four times, second only to Brazil, Italy continue to go through something of a crisis as they’re now missing this competition for the third time in a row after also failing to qualify in 2022 and 2018.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL CAUGHTOFFSIDE APP FOR ALL THE LATEST & BREAKING UPDATES – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYRemarkably, the last time the Azzuri won a knockout game at the World Cup was their final victory over France all the way back in 2006.There’ll be a few other big names missing as Robert Lewandowski’s Poland were beaten by Sweden, and the likes of Denmark, Hungary, and Nigeria also miss out.2026 World Cup groups in fullSee below for the full round-up of this summer’s World Cup group stages as newly-qualified Sweden, Bosnia, Czech Republic, and Turkey join the line up…Group AMexicoSouth AfricaSouth KoreaCzech RepublicGroup BCanadaBosnia-HerzegovinaQatarSwitzerlandGroup CBrazilMoroccoHaitiScotlandGroup DUnited StatesParaguayAustraliaTurkeyGroup EGermanyCuraçaoIvory CoastEcuadorGroup FNetherlandsJapanTunisiaSwedenGroup GBelgiumEgyptIranNew ZealandGroup H Spain Cape Verde Saudi Arabia UruguayGroup I France Senegal Iraq NorwayGroup J Argentina Algeria Austria JordanGroup K Portugal DR Congo Uzbekistan ColombiaGroup L England Croatia Ghana PanamaBest players not at the 2026 World CupLewandowski is unfortunately not going to be at the World Cup this summer, with one of the game’s greatest strikers of the modern era now unlikely to feature at this level again as he approaches his 38th birthday.With Nigeria not qualifying, Victor Osimhen is also a huge loss in this year’s tournament, with the Galatasaray striker performing at a really high level in recent years and showing he surely belongs at this level.Hungary also won’t be there, meaning in-form Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai gets the summer off, as does his Reds teammate Milos Kerkez.More Stories / Latest NewsUpdate: Liverpool given potential obstacle in bid to sign “outstanding” €100m starApr 1 2026, 8:00Final 2026 World Cup groups confirmed as Italy and other big names miss outApr 1 2026, 7:48Report: Chelsea recruitment team desperate to beat Man Utd to €100m transferApr 1 2026, 7:07Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has been a joy to watch for Paris Saint-Germain in recent times, but he won’t be lighting up this World Cup as Georgia failed to qualify.And then of course, there are so many talented players from this Italian side who won’t be there, most notably Manchester City goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori, Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, and big names from Serie A such as Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, and Moise Kean.The post Final 2026 World Cup groups confirmed as Italy and other big names miss out appeared first on CaughtOffside.