Worse than the national football team? These 11 countries with large populations have never played in the World Cup

The Chinese men's football team has failed to compete in the World Cup many times and has often become the target of ridicule by domestic fans. But looking around the world, you will find that some countries have huge populations, but they also have no chance of qualifying for the World Cup finals - in fact, they have very few experiences of "almost qualifying". The following are the top ten countries with the largest population in the world that have never appeared in the World Cup. Their football stories may make you think new about the saying "there is strength in numbers".

10-11. Sudan & Myanmar

Population: about 51.6 million & About 51.3 million

This pair of "suffering brothers" tied for tenth because of their close population. Sudan even holds the title of African Cup champion (1970), as well as silver and bronze medals, and has participated in the African Cup a total of 9 times. But on the World Cup stage, they are always spectators. Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) only began to seriously participate in the World Cup qualifiers in 2010. Before that, it mostly withdrew or abstained. They only won runner-up in the Asian Cup in 1968 and won gold medals in the Asian Games twice.

9. Kenya

Population: approximately 53.3 million

Kenya has never succeeded in competing in the World Cup since 1974. They are not considered a strong team on the African football map. They have entered the African Cup 6 times but have never made it out of the group.

8. Thailand

Population: approximately 65.8 million

Thailand is the dominant football player in Southeast Asia, winning the regional championship 7 times. In recent years, they have often appeared in the Asian Cup, but their World Cup journey has always been bleak, and it is difficult to even say that they have ever been "close" to the goal.

7. Tanzania

Population: approximately 68.1 million

Since participating in the World Cup qualifying for the first time in 1974, Tanzania has not only never qualified, nor even posed a threat, but has also withdrawn midway twice. Experienced in 3 African Cups and failed to win in the finals.

6. Vietnam

Population: approximately 101.3 million

War and political factors limited Vietnam’s early opportunities to participate. Their highlight moment was in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, reaching the third round for the first time in history, although they ended up at the bottom of the group. In the Asian Cup, they reached the quarterfinals twice.

5. Ethiopia

Population: approximately 111.6 million

The story of Ethiopia is full of "almost" regrets. They either didn’t make the cut or simply didn’t sign up. Before the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, its Football Association was even disqualified by FIFA. In the subsequent World Cup qualifying rounds, they were very close, but lost to Nigeria both home and away and fell short. The African Cup was once their glorious stage (winning the championship in 1962), but in recent years they have had few good results.

4. Philippines

Population: approximately 114.1 million

The Philippines began playing football as early as 1913 and won the Far Eastern Games football match that year when only two teams (the Philippines and the Republic of China) participated. But at the next level, they struggled. The best record in the world preliminaries was to enter the second round. In the first Asian Cup in 2019, they lost all three games and finished last in the group.

3. Bangladesh

Population: approximately 169.8 million

Bangladesh, which became independent only in 1971, has a short football history. They have never come close to the World Cup and only participated in the Asian Cup once in 1980, losing all in the group stage. This is not surprising as cricket is far more popular than football in this country.

2. Pakistan

Population: approximately 241.5 million

The current situation of football in Pakistan can be called a "paradox": this country that produces a large amount of football for the world hardly knows how to play it well. They have never qualified for the World Cup or even the Asian Cup. Winning in official international competitions is rare. There is no doubt that cricket is the absolute king in this country.

1. India

Population: approximately 1.4 billion

As the world's most populous country, India is still struggling to pursue their World Cup dream. In the 2026 World Cup preliminaries, they ranked behind Qatar and Kuwait and stopped in the second round. However, there is one of the most famous "misses" in the history of Indian football: they had automatically qualified for the 1950 World Cup (all opponents in the same group withdrew), but India themselves ultimately gave up and went to Brazil. The two most widely circulated reasons are: unable to afford the trip, or they were asked to wear shoes and refused (insisting on going barefoot).

Readers can choose which version they prefer to believe. But the story itself may be enough to explain why in the world of football, population is far from everything.