
Even though the FIFA World Cup has expanded in size over the years to include more and more teams, it is still not an easy competition to qualify for. Whilst the first competition back in 1930 saw just 13 teams at the finals, the last World Cup had 32 and that will increase to 48 from 2026. However, with nations from across the globe trying to fight for a limited number of spots, there are far more that miss out than make it. While some teams occasionally suffer the pain of missing out though, there are many that have never managed to feature in the World Cup at all.
AFC
Despite Asia being a large continent with many nations, they have historically been offered few places in the World Cup, usually just four or five. It therefore should not come as huge surprise that 34 Asian countries have never taken part at the World Cup. In many cases, football is not a particularly big sport in the nation and the lack of interest means there is a severe lack of talent. Moreover, Asia is home to many relatively under-developed nations and so there is little money available to help grow the game.
Country | Qualifying Attempts | Qualification Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Drawn | Matches Lost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Syria | 15 | 102 | 44 | 23 | 35 |
Thailand | 13 | 97 | 26 | 21 | 50 |
Hong Kong | 13 | 81 | 24 | 16 | 41 |
Malaysia | 13 | 69 | 23 | 13 | 33 |
Singapore | 12 | 76 | 21 | 11 | 44 |
Chinese Taipei | 12 | 66 | 6 | 4 | 56 |
Bahrain | 11 | 96 | 35 | 28 | 33 |
Jordan | 10 | 78 | 32 | 16 | 30 |
Yemen | 10 | 58 | 13 | 13 | 32 |
Bangladesh | 10 | 58 | 10 | 8 | 40 |
Macau | 10 | 37 | 4 | 2 | 31 |
Oman | 9 | 88 | 39 | 21 | 28 |
Vietnam | 9 | 59 | 17 | 6 | 36 |
India | 9 | 51 | 11 | 15 | 25 |
Pakistan | 9 | 32 | 0 | 4 | 28 |
Lebanon | 8 | 72 | 23 | 18 | 31 |
Nepal | 8 | 38 | 6 | 4 | 28 |
Sri Lanka | 8 | 39 | 4 | 6 | 29 |
Uzbekistan | 7 | 102 | 54 | 19 | 29 |
Turkmenistan | 7 | 46 | 20 | 5 | 21 |
Tajikistan | 7 | 44 | 17 | 8 | 19 |
Kyrgyzstan | 7 | 39 | 15 | 5 | 19 |
Maldives | 7 | 40 | 9 | 3 | 28 |
Palestine | 6 | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 |
Mongolia | 6 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 |
Cambodia | 6 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 28 |
Philippines | 5 | 29 | 7 | 5 | 17 |
Afghanistan | 5 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 14 |
Laos | 5 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 21 |
Myanmar | 4 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 15 |
Brunei | 4 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
Timor-Leste | 4 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Guam | 3 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
Bhutan | 2 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
Syria has faced more disappointment that any other country on the continent with 15 failed attempts to make it to the finals. They did come ever so close to making their way into the 2018 World Cup though. Despite being ravaged by war at the time, the national football team made it as far as the AFC play-off final versus Australia but a Tim Cahill goal in extra time condemned them to a 3-2 aggregate defeat. Even if Syria had won that game though, they still would have needed to beat Honduras in the following intercontinental play-off match.
Interestingly, the highest ranked country on this list (as of June 2022) is Uzbekistan. Formerly part of the Soviet Union, they boast the highest points average in qualification at 1.775. Normally a team that reaches the second round of qualification at the very least (although they missed out in 2022) they could well be the next Asian side removed from this list.
It is worth noting that Qatar would also be on the list had they not controversially been awarded host status for the 2022 World Cup. This also means Qatar are the only country whose whole involvement at the World Cup has been handed to them automatically. All other hosts have also qualified via the normal route on at least one occasion. Indonesia’s sole appearance in 1938 was courtesy of a walkover though, back when they were known as Dutch East Indies.
CAF
Now we move onto Africa, which like Asia, is a large continent but not one that is normally granted too many places at the World Cup. Since 1998, they have had five representatives at every edition which is not a lot for a continent featuring nearly 50 teams.
The upcoming World Cup expansion benefits them greatly though as in 2026 the CAF federation will move up to nine guaranteed places and a chance of an additional team qualifying through a six-team playoff.
Country | Qualifying Attempts | Qualification Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Drawn | Matches Lost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zambia | 14 | 102 | 47 | 21 | 34 |
Guinea | 13 | 81 | 35 | 14 | 32 |
Kenya | 13 | 74 | 24 | 19 | 31 |
Sudan | 13 | 72 | 16 | 21 | 35 |
Ethiopia | 12 | 49 | 11 | 14 | 24 |
Zimbabwe | 11 | 69 | 22 | 18 | 29 |
Libya | 11 | 62 | 23 | 14 | 25 |
Malawi | 11 | 66 | 16 | 17 | 33 |
Sierra Leone | 11 | 47 | 12 | 9 | 26 |
Congo | 10 | 68 | 21 | 16 | 31 |
Liberia | 10 | 66 | 18 | 12 | 36 |
Uganda | 10 | 48 | 17 | 12 | 19 |
Madagascar | 10 | 42 | 13 | 9 | 20 |
Tanzania | 10 | 41 | 9 | 14 | 18 |
Burkina Faso | 9 | 66 | 29 | 13 | 24 |
Gabon | 9 | 63 | 23 | 12 | 28 |
Benin | 9 | 50 | 16 | 8 | 26 |
Mozambique | 9 | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 |
Gambia | 9 | 26 | 6 | 6 | 14 |
Namibia | 8 | 50 | 12 | 11 | 27 |
Niger | 8 | 36 | 11 | 6 | 19 |
Eswatini | 8 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
Lesotho | 8 | 26 | 2 | 10 | 14 |
Mauritius | 8 | 20 | 1 | 3 | 16 |
Botswana | 7 | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 |
Rwanda | 7 | 44 | 8 | 10 | 26 |
Burundi | 7 | 22 | 7 | 5 | 10 |
Guinea-Bissau | 7 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
Mauritania | 7 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 15 |
Somalia | 7 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
Mali | 6 | 48 | 19 | 13 | 16 |
Cape Verde | 6 | 40 | 16 | 5 | 19 |
Equatorial Guinea | 6 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 |
Chad | 6 | 18 | 6 | 2 | 10 |
Seychelles | 6 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 14 |
Djibouti | 5 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 17 |
São Tomé and Príncipe | 5 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Eritrea | 5 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
Central African Republic | 4 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 12 |
Comoros | 4 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
South Sudan | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Zambia may have lifted the Africa Cup of Nations back in 2012, in quite stunning fashion, but they have not managed to pull off another surprise by qualifying for the World Cup. Their qualification record is quite solid by all accounts but they have regularly had the problem that there has been just one superior team in their way. Guinea, Kenya and Sudan have tasted almost as much disappointment as Zambia, with 13 failed qualification efforts each. Guinea and Sudan have both come somewhat close on one occasion, trailing group leaders by just four points in the 2006 and 2002 World Cup qualifiers, respectively.
A mention should go to Burkina Faso too (and not just because the capital is the delightfully named Ouagadougou), as they have the second-best points per game average (narrowly trailing Zambia) on the list above. They put in an extremely strong challenge in their attempts to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and ended up a mere whisker away. Facing a decisive play-off tie with a formidable Algeria, the two-legged contest ended up 3-3 with Burkina Faso giving as good as they got. Sadly, for them though, this was not enough as the away goals rule ensured Algeria booked their place in Brazil.
CONCACAF
Moving to the other side of the world now, here the list of unqualified teams mainly consists of small Caribbean islands who often end up being hammered in qualification matches by bigger nations.
At the time of writing, Anguilla had conceded 4.5 goals per game in their qualification matches and even this was better than the U.S Virgin Islands (5) and Turks and Caicos Islands (5.2).
Country | Qualifying Attempts | Qualification Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Drawn | Matches Lost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Curaçao | 17 | 66 | 16 | 20 | 30 |
Guatemala | 16 | 126 | 52 | 32 | 42 |
Suriname | 15 | 69 | 22 | 14 | 33 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 11 | 46 | 15 | 6 | 25 |
Guyana | 11 | 38 | 8 | 6 | 24 |
Puerto Rico | 10 | 29 | 7 | 7 | 15 |
Dominican Republic | 9 | 33 | 12 | 6 | 15 |
Barbados | 9 | 41 | 11 | 6 | 24 |
Bermuda | 8 | 40 | 16 | 10 | 14 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 8 | 62 | 15 | 8 | 39 |
Nicaragua | 8 | 25 | 9 | 1 | 15 |
Grenada | 8 | 29 | 8 | 3 | 18 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 7 | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 |
Belize | 7 | 29 | 8 | 6 | 15 |
Saint Lucia | 7 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 16 |
Dominica | 7 | 24 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
Aruba | 7 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
Cayman Islands | 7 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 14 |
Bahamas | 6 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
Montserrat | 6 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
U.S. Virgin Islands | 6 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
British Virgin Islands | 6 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
Turks and Caicos Islands | 6 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
Anguilla | 6 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
It is very difficult to say there are any surprises at all on this list. Guatemala are a reasonably solid side but they have long lacked any recognisable names, with the majority of their squad playing within the country. They cruised through the second round of 2014 World Cup qualification, winning all six matches but missed progressing from the third round due to goal difference. Los Chapines did end up going to the final round for the 2006 World Cup but here they fell two points short of a play-off spot.
CONMEBOL
South America is a continent of relatively few nations and many are traditionally strong football ones. As such, there is little need to make a table for the list of CONMEBOL teams never to feature at the World Cup but for the sake of consistency we will add it anyway.
It must be quite painful as a Venezuelan fan to know that their side is the only one on the entire continent not to feature at the World Cup. It is not as though qualification is that hard, relatively speaking, either. Sure, they have to play some great teams but there are 10 nations gunning for four guaranteed places plus an extra play-off spot. This has been the case since 2002 and they had four qualification spots in 1998 and 1986 too.
Country | Qualifying Attempts | Qualification Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Drawn | Matches Lost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venezuela | 14 | 158 | 28 | 26 | 104 |
We should note, however, that whilst Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana are all geographically part of South America, in footballing terms they fall under the CONCACAF umbrella. None of these tiny nations have ever made it to the finals and you can see Guyana and Suriname listed under the relevant CONCACAF table. French Guiana, however, is a French overseas department and not a member of FIFA. Its players are eligible to play for France, as, for example, former Chelsea player and 2006 World Cup runner-up, Florent Malouda, actually did.
OFC
Oceania has never had a guaranteed qualifying place for the World Cup. Instead, the top team from the continent has always had to play at least one play-off match to book their spot in the finals. The OFC representative during the play-offs has only ever been one of three teams, Australia, Israel or New Zealand. Somewhat confusingly, Australia switched to the AFC in 2006, while Israel are part of UEFA (they temporarily moved to the OFC for political reasons between 1985 and 1989). This has meant that, very predictably, New Zealand have topped OFC qualification on the last four occasions.
The list below features all current OFC members that are also FIFA members, with the exception of New Zealand. Tuvalu, along with Kiribati, are not FIFA members but Tuvalu participated in the 2007 South Pacific Games, which doubled as a qualification round for the upcoming World Cup, hence their odd looking appearance on the list.
Country | Qualifying Attempts | Qualification Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Drawn | Matches Lost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fiji | 10 | 56 | 21 | 10 | 25 |
Solomon Islands | 8 | 57 | 23 | 9 | 25 |
Tahiti | 8 | 45 | 17 | 8 | 20 |
Vanuatu | 7 | 37 | 12 | 3 | 22 |
Samoa | 6 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 |
Tonga | 6 | 22 | 7 | 1 | 14 |
Cook Islands | 6 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 16 |
New Caledonia | 5 | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 |
Papua New Guinea | 5 | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 |
American Samoa | 5 | 18 | 3 | 1 | 14 |
Tuvalu | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
In 2026, the continent will have a guaranteed spot and one play-off spot but any OFC representative is extremely unlikely to prevail in a six-team play-off tournament. So, really any hope of qualifying boils down to overcoming New Zealand but this seems almost as unlikely. In the final round qualifying, the Kiwis beat Solomon Islands 5-0 in 2022 and the scoreline was 8-3 (on aggregate) during the same stage in 2017. Needless to say, we would not expect any of the teams listed above to feature at the World Cup any time soon but this should come as a major boon to New Zealand. The Kiwis will be hoping to add to their appearances at the 1982 and 2010 World Cups but this could become much harder if Australia move back under OFC governance.
UEFA
Finally, we move on to our last confederation, UEFA. With so many talented nations in Europe, the continent has always enjoyed, by far, the largest slice of available places.
This has been the case for a long time too. In the 1990 Italy World Cup, for example, 14 of the 24 teams that attended were from Europe. Although UEFA did not see an increase in places when the World Cup expanded in 2002, they still retained a very sizeable 13 places, which will increase to 16 for the 2026 World Cup, one third of the 48 that will take part.
Country | Qualifying Attempts | Qualification Matches Played | Matches Won | Matches Drawn | Matches Lost |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Luxembourg | 21 | 142 | 8 | 10 | 124 |
Finland | 20 | 137 | 35 | 25 | 77 |
Cyprus | 16 | 124 | 16 | 15 | 93 |
Albania | 13 | 114 | 24 | 14 | 76 |
Malta | 13 | 112 | 3 | 12 | 97 |
Lithuania | 10 | 81 | 18 | 16 | 47 |
Estonia | 10 | 84 | 17 | 12 | 55 |
Latvia | 9 | 85 | 21 | 18 | 46 |
Faroe Islands | 8 | 80 | 8 | 8 | 64 |
San Marino | 8 | 76 | 0 | 2 | 74 |
North Macedonia | 7 | 72 | 20 | 15 | 37 |
Armenia | 7 | 72 | 13 | 17 | 42 |
Belarus | 7 | 66 | 14 | 12 | 40 |
Georgia | 7 | 64 | 11 | 17 | 36 |
Kazakhstan | 7 | 68 | 12 | 14 | 42 |
Azerbaijan | 7 | 66 | 7 | 15 | 44 |
Moldova | 7 | 68 | 5 | 13 | 50 |
Liechtenstein | 7 | 70 | 2 | 7 | 61 |
Andorra | 6 | 62 | 4 | 3 | 55 |
Montenegro | 4 | 40 | 13 | 13 | 14 |
Kosovo | 2 | 18 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
Gibraltar | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
Tiny Luxembourg have regularly taken an absolutely beating during World Cup qualification although they have shown signs of improvement recently. Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, they won three of eight qualifiers, two more wins than they had ever managed previously in one campaign. Finland secured a first ever appearance in the 2020 European Championships but World Cup involvement has always been a step too far. They did give it a decent effort in 2010 but fell four points short of entering the second round. With the coming expansion they will certainly hope to put that right in the years ahead.
The only team on the list to average more than one point per game in qualifying though is North Macedonia. They did not come close to qualifying on their first six attempts but for the 2022 World Cup they managed to secure a play-off place, meaning they were just two matches away from the finals. The significant underdogs stunned Italy 1-0 in the first contest but then lost 2-0 to Portugal at the last hurdle.
North Macedonia is a young nation, founded in 1991 (the record above includes their performances as Macedonia). There is geo-political upheaval somewhere in the world more or less all the time and certainly in Europe (though also in Africa and Asia) we have seen many “new” countries created over the last 30 years or so. Many of these younger nations have proud football histories as part of larger countries. Whilst they may not have qualified for a World Cup finals yet, it would be no surprise to see the likes of North Macedonia, Kosovo and Montenegro, among others, break their duck once the competition expands to 48 nations.