There are some massive names not going to the 2026 World Cup from Robert Lewnadowski to Gianluigi Donnarumma.
And we challenged Darren Bent to name his best XI of players that won’t be heading to North America this summer.
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The majority of the team is made up of European players, with Italy, Hungary and Poland all missing out.
But there are a couple of African representatives as well.
In terms of the Premier League, several high-profile players aren’t heading to the World Cup.
And a lot of them are in Bent’s XI, including Manchester United star Bryan Mbeumo, Donnarumma and Liverpool talisman Dominik Szoboszlai.
Some of this XI have known for quite some time that they wouldn’t be at the World Cup, but for others, the pain is more recent.
Poland and Italy lost their World Cup play-off finals on Tuesday night, with the Italians now failing to qualify for the last three World Cups.
Italy beat Northern Ireland 2-0 to set up a tie against Bosnia only to lose 4-1 via penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw.
Meanwhile, Poland lost 3-2 to Sweden, who despite finishing bottom of their group managed to qualify due to their strong Nations League campaign.
It was Viktor Gyokeres who was the hero with a late winner, ensuring that Lewandowski will not be playing in his final World Cup.
Gyokeres and co are thus ineligible to make this squad, but who was selected by Bent?
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What did Benty say?
Well, what is clear is that there are some other huge names who haven’t even made this best of the rest XI.
Some of the names to miss out include Serhou Guirassy, Harry Wilson and Benjamin Sesko – all players enjoying good seasons in different ways.
But the goalkeeper was always going to be a pretty straightforward pick, given Donnarumma’s reputation and trophy cabinet, which includes last season’s Champions League.
Speaking on Drive with Andy Goldstein, Bent said: “Right, goalkeeper is Donnarumma.
“There were some nice ones to choose from, including Jan Oblak, but I’ve gone Donnarumma in goal – I think he has to be.”
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Following Italy’s failure to make the World Cup, Donnarumma has released a statement.
In it he said: “Last night, after the match, I cried. Today, words serve little purpose, it’s true.
“But there is one thing I feel deeply and that I want to share with you.
“After such a great disappointment, we must find the courage to turn the page, once again. And for that, it takes a lot of strength, passion, and conviction”.
He isn’t the only Italian in this team either with Riccardo Calafiori, Alessandro Bastoni and Sandro Tonali all in Bent’s XI.
Going through the rest of the defence, he said: “The back four was a bit of a difficult one.
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“So, I’ve gone Milos Kerkez at left-back because Hungary didn’t qualify.
“I’ve gone for Calafiori and Bastoni at centre-back.
“Now, the right-back situation was tough because I’ve gone for Matty Cash. I was thinking about Ola Aina.
“There were a few other Premier League players like Nathan Collins, Joachim Andersen and Calvin Bassey, but I went for Matty Cash.
“I think he’s a decent full-back, but I am not putting him up there with Reece James.”
Moving onto the midfield and forward positions, Bent said: “I am playing 4-4-2.
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“My two in the middle of the park are Tonali and Szoboszlai. You could have had Mikkel Damsgaard from Denmark, but I’ll tell you my wide players.
“On the right, Bryan Mbeumo, and on the left, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.”
Bent then challenged co-host Andy Goldstein to try and spell Kvaratskhelia, and he spectacularly failed.
The former England striker then carried on with his team by naming the front two.
“My two strikers: Robert Lewandowski and Victor Osimhen.
“I was going to put in Guirassy who plays for Guinea because his numbers for Borussia Dortmund have been crazy, but you can’t leave either of those two out.”
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Rest of the World XI involved?
Before Bent named his XI, Goldstein suggested that a best of the rest XI should be given a place at the World Cup.
Bent is firmly against this, although he would be curious to see the World Cup winners play a team like that after the tournament.
When asked about the initial suggestion, he said: “Not really because it’s not the World Cup.
“I would like to see the winners play a rest of the world team, but they shouldn’t go to the World Cup.”
And what should that tournament be called I hear you ask, well Bent has an answer for that.
“The Nation’s Best or the World’s Best Cup.”
