Eight Major Countries Yet to Qualify for the FIFA World Cup

Despite their massive populations and passion for sports, several of the world’s most populous nations have never made an appearance at the FIFA World Cup. From Asia to Africa, these countries have struggled to break through due to reasons ranging from dominance of other sports to poor football infrastructure and management challenges.

According to Planet Football, here are eight countries still waiting for their World Cup debut:

1. India (1.4 billion people)
   India, the world’s most populous nation, has a deep love for football but remains more devoted to cricket. Although they qualified for the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, they withdrew due to travel costs — not because of the myth that they wanted to play barefoot.
2. Indonesia (278 million people)
   Indonesia has never qualified as a modern nation, though the Dutch East Indies — its colonial predecessor — appeared in 1938. Their campaign for the 2026 World Cup ended after defeats to Saudi Arabia and Iraq, despite fielding talented players from the Dutch league.
3. Pakistan (243 million people)
   Football in Pakistan lags far behind cricket in popularity. The national team has never played at the World Cup and is currently ranked close to 200th in the world, with their best-ever ranking being 141st.
4. Bangladesh (169 million people)
   Bangladeshis are passionate about the World Cup — often supporting Argentina or Brazil — yet their own team has never featured in it. They began trying to qualify in 1974 but are still waiting for a breakthrough moment.
5. Ethiopia (125 million people)
   Ethiopia’s absence is particularly surprising given its rich football history. They almost made it to the 2014 World Cup but lost narrowly to Nigeria. With Africa now having nine qualification slots, Ethiopia could stand a better chance for 2030.
6. Philippines (113 million people)
   Long dominated by basketball and boxing due to American influence, football has only recently gained popularity in the Philippines. However, ranked 143rd by FIFA as of September 2025, the nation has yet to pose a serious World Cup threat.
7. Vietnam (99 million people)
   Introduced to football by the French, Vietnam reached the third round of Asian qualifiers in 2022 — their best-ever performance — but still fell short. The team continues to grow and hopes to reach future tournaments.
8. Thailand (71 million people)
   Thailand, also passionate about football, has twice come close — reaching the final Asian qualifying rounds for the 2002 and 2018 World Cups. Ranked 101st by FIFA, their historic Olympic appearances in 1956 and 1968 show the nation’s long-standing football heritage.

While these countries continue to nurture their football dreams, their fans remain hopeful that one day, their flags will fly on the world’s biggest football stage.