The first goalkeeper misses the USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup, never played in a World Cup, 27-year-old Donnarumma valued at 45 million euros.

Can you imagine? The current world's best goalkeeper, the main goalkeeper of a treble-winning team, the highest-valued goalkeeper, will miss the 2026 USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup, and has never played in a World Cup. Yes, he is Italy's starting goalkeeper Donnarumma.

In the European World Cup qualifiers final, Italy lost to Bosnia in a penalty shootout, missing the 2026 USA-Canada-Mexico World Cup, and has now missed three consecutive World Cups. Is this still the four-star Italy you know? Perhaps for many young fans, they don't even know that Italian football is traditionally a strong team; now it might not even be considered second-tier in Europe.

The 27-year-old Italian goalkeeper Donnarumma, currently playing for Manchester City, has a market value of 45 million euros according to Transfermarkt, making him the highest-valued goalkeeper in world football. However, Donnarumma has never played in a World Cup. By the 2030 World Cup, he will be 31 years old. While 31 might still be prime years for a goalkeeper, given the current state of Italian football, can Italy definitely qualify for the 2030 World Cup? Could they possibly miss four consecutive World Cups?

For professional football players, the World Cup is the highest-level competition and the grandest stage in football. Although Donnarumma has already won the Champions League, the highest club honor, the World Cup stage remains a distant and elusive goal for him.