The 2026 World Cup has closed after six weeks of competition with 1,248 players participating in 48 national teams. Most have the opportunity to play at least once, but there are still some notable names who have to finish the tournament without playing even a minute.
The most notable is N'Golo Kante. The midfielder who once won the 2018 World Cup with the French national team was not used by coach Didier Deschamps in any match, including the third-place match against England. Although he has turned 35, the former Chelsea and Leicester player is still considered capable of contributing, causing Deschamps' decision to cause no small controversy.
In the England national team, Kobbie Mainoo is the only player not to play at the 2026 World Cup. This young midfielder used to start in the EURO 2024 final but had to be a spectator throughout the tournament, partly due to health problems before the third-place match.
The Spanish champion team also has 3 players who are not used: Victor Munoz, David Raya and Alejandro Grimaldo.
Munoz missed the opportunity to debut at the World Cup due to injury in the early stages of the tournament. Meanwhile, Raya, despite just winning the Premier League Golden Glove, still had to be a substitute for Unai Simon, who only conceded one goal throughout La Roja's championship journey. Grimaldo also could not compete for a position with Marc Cucurella, who played prominently on the left flank.
James Trafford also went through a forgettable World Cup when he was not given the opportunity to start for England by coach Thomas Tuchel. Even in the third-place match, Dean Henderson was chosen to replace Jordan Pickford, while this young goalkeeper continued to sit on the bench.
In the Brazilian national team, center-back Bremer could not compete with the Gabriel - Marquinhos duo and ended the tournament without any minutes of play.
Ronald Araujo is also in a similar situation. The Uruguayan center-back was injured right before the World Cup and missed the first 2 matches. After recovering, he was still not used, in the context of Uruguay disappointingly being eliminated from the group stage.
In the Portuguese national team, Goncalo Inacio was also not given a chance when the duo Ruben Dias and Renato Veiga occupied a starting spot throughout the tournament.
The last prominent name on the list is Mats Wieffer of the Netherlands. Jurrien Timber's injury once opened up hopes of contributing to this player. However, coach Ronald Koeman still trusted Denzel Dumfries in the right-back position throughout the tournament, leaving Wieffer without a chance to play.
Although not playing, being on the World Cup attendance list is still a memorable milestone for many players. However, for the names mentioned above, the 2026 World Cup will certainly leave many regrets when they can only witness the biggest football festival on the planet from the bench.
