Eight countries have already been ruled out of playing at the 2030 FIFA World Cup, years before the qualification campaign officially begins.
Although qualifying matches for the tournament are not scheduled to start until the September-October 2027 international window, the nations have already been confirmed as ineligible to participate because they are not members of FIFA.
The countries are Vatican City, Monaco, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Palau, Nauru, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Their absence is not based on sporting performance but on FIFA membership rules, which require
participating nations to belong to the world football governing body.
