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Italy’s three straight World Cup qualifying failures have put the Azzurri in the spotlight among the most talented teams to miss the FIFA competition. Despite the expansion to 48 teams for the 2026 World Cup, Italy still managed to miss out on reaching the final tournament after suffering a penalty defeat to Bosnia & Herzegovina in the playoff.
Yet they are far from the only major side to disappointingly miss out on a spot in the famous event, which only comes around every four years.
The Sporting News rounds up the 10 most shocking World Cup qualifying failures since the tournament became a truly global event after World War II/
MORE: How Italy failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Top 10 biggest World Cup qualifying failures
10. Czechoslovakia 1978
Incredibly, Czechia (then known as Czechoslovakia) in the 1970's were monsters in the European champions while simultaneously completely inept in World Cup qualifying.
While winning Euro 1976 and finishing third in 1980, they somehow managed to miss out on qualifying to both the 1974 and 1978 World Cup. The 1978 miss was the worst of the bunch, as they somehow managed to lose on the road at both Scotland and Wales, both by multi-goal margins, to miss out on qualifying while Scotland finished top of the three-team group.
9. Mexico 1982
Mexico have only failed to qualify for the World Cup competitively on three occasions, first in 1934 and again in 1974 and 1982. The last of the lot was the most embarrassing, as Mexico had established themselves as giants of CONCACAF by that point.
At that time, the 1981 CONCACAF Championship in Honduras doubled as the confederation's World Cup qualifying tournament, and Mexico somehow managed to finish below Honduras and El Salvador in the standings to miss out on a spot at the FIFA tournament. They lost to the hosts on a late winner in the second game, and then drew with Haiti, Canada, and Honduras again to confirm their disappointment.
El Tri have made every World Cup tournament since, barring the 1990 edition from which they were banned for the Cachirules scandal.
8. USA 2018
The “Disaster of Couva” remains embedded in the memory of USMNT fans to this day, as the United States struggled through CONCACAF qualifying against a host of inferior opponents.
They began the final round of qualifying, known as the “Hexagonal,” with a home defeat to Mexico. While that was worrying, it was nothing compared to the 4-0 drubbing they absorbed in Costa Rica. Playing on hideous pitches on the road in CONCACAF is difficult, but that unacceptable result left them in a dangerous position. They would again lose to Costa Rica at home by a 2-0 score in September 2017, and draw with Honduras on the road, leaving them in a tenuous position with a final-day visit to lowly Trinidad & Tobago.
Even in their precarious standing, the only way the U.S. could be eliminated was with a defeat to the Soca Warriors, who had already been consigned to the basement of the standings, combined with a Honduras victory over leaders Mexico. Yet that nightmare scenario came true, as the United States suffered a 2-0 defeat in the Caribbean while El Tri fell to Honduras, allowing Los Catrachos to secure the intercontinental qualifying spot while the U.S. missed out altogether.
MORE: Inside the United States’ 10-game winless streak against European foes
7. England 1994
Paul Gascoigne, Alan Shearer, and Les Ferdinand were part of one of England’s most embarrassing international results in the nation’s history, as they finished behind Norway and the Netherlands to miss out on qualification for the 1994 World Cup in the United States.
It began in foreboding fashion as they drew with Norway at home to open their qualifying campaign, and even after a 4-0 win over Turkey and a 6-0 victory over San Marino (a match in which David Platt scored four times), they could not get over the hump. A 2-2 home draw with the Dutch didn’t help, and defeat in Rotterdam put them in a poor position as Dennis Bergkamp and Ronald Koeman scored the goals. Yet the result that doomed them was a 1-1 draw on the road in Poland, where an 84th-minute equalizer by Ian Wright wasn’t enough to snatch a win, and those two dropped points ended up being the margin by which they finished behind the Dutch in the standings.
This was the last time England failed to qualify for the World Cup, and only the third time overall after back-to-back misses in 1974 and 1978.
6. Italy 2018
It was still fresh in most fans' memories that four-time World Cup champions Italy had lifted the trophy in 2006 in Germany. Despite a pair of group stage exits the next two tournaments, Italian football was still considered amongst the cream of the crop, having only failed to qualify once in history back in 1958.
Then began their 12-year nightmare, from which they have yet to emerge. Drawn into the same qualifying group as Spain, Italy were unable to secure the top spot, leaving them to the playoff round. Still, it felt as though there would be no problems for the Azzurri, as they were only in this position due to their unlucky draw.
Yet Italy failed to score in either leg against 25th-ranked Sweden, falling 1-0 on the road before being blanked 0-0 at home in the return leg. They managed 27 shots to Sweden's four, putting six on target, but could not get past Robin Olsen who stood tall in net and shockingly kept the Italians out of the tournament in Russia.
MORE: Inside Italy's possible road back to the World Cup stage in 2030
5. Netherlands 1986
The Netherlands was still building its pedigree through the 1960's and 70's, but a pair of runner-up finishes in 1974 and 1978 seemed to have established the Dutch as global football powers. They shockingly missed out on qualification to the 1982 tournament, but as the likes of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman, and Frank Rijkaard came through the system, they seemed poised for a return.
That was not to be, as they finished second behind Hungary in their group before losing to Belgium on away goals in their two-legged playoff. After falling 1-0 in Brussels in the first leg, the Dutch were on their way to qualifying as they led 2-0 late, but an 85th minute goal from Georges Grun leveled up the aggregate scoreline and provided the Belgians the tiebreaker they needed to qualify at the Dutch's expense.
4. Spain 1958
It seems truly incredible that Alfredo Di Stefano never stepped foot on a World Cup pitch during his illustrious career. The architect of Real Madrid's early Champions League triumphs, Di Stefano was not part of the Spain side that missed out on qualifying to the 1954 World Cup, but he debuted on the international stage in 1957 and seemed poised to make his home country one of the favorites to win the title the following year in West Germany.
Instead, they were doomed by their first two qualifying results, a 2-2 home draw against Switzerland and a 4-2 defeat to Scotland, from which they could not recover, even by defeating Scotland 4-1 at home and beating Switzerland 4-1 on the road. They would end up a point behind Scotland in the final table, with only the top of the three-team group qualifying.
3. France 1994
After missing out on qualifying for the 1990 World Cup in Italy, the France national team had some soul-searching to do ahead of the 1994 tournament in the United States. This team had Laurent Blanc, Didier Deschamps, Marcel Desailly, David Ginola, and Eric Cantona in the side, all players who were either world renowned at the time or would become such by the end of their careers.
Yet, incredibly, they would go on to miss a second-straight World Cup by finishing third in their group, while Sweden and Bulgaria narrowly snatched the top two spots. It all came down to a final-day defeat to Bulgaria, who got a 90th-minute winner from Emil Kostadinov to send them through, while a draw would have been enough to see France into the tournament.
2. Argentina 1970
Argentina's only time ever falling short in FIFA World Cup qualifying came in 1970 when they failed to reach the tournament in Mexico. At that time, CONMEBOL qualifying was done in groups, with Argentina drawn into a three-team pod alongside Peru and Bolivia. They would go on to finish bottom of that table, losing their opening two games on the road.
After a 1-0 home win over Bolivia put them in contention on the final day, the Albiceleste still could have advanced with a win over Peru, but a 2-2 draw left them on the outside. The match came down to the end, with Alberto Rendo equalizing in the 90th minute for Argentina, but they could not get over the hump and missed out.
1. Italy 2022
Italy's failure to qualify in 2018 was shocking, but their embarrassment in 2022 was the most disappointing of their current stretch.
First and foremost, they finished second behind Switzerland in their qualifying group thanks to four draws in eight matches, including both games against the Swiss as well as against Bulgaria and Northern Ireland. Then, they went on to lose to North Macedonia at home in the semifinal of their playoff draw, an altogether disastrous qualifying campaign that should have never occurred given the talent and history of this federation.
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