Two of Manchester United’s summer additions in attack won’t be at the 2026 World Cup

When the expanded 48-team World Cup kicks off across North America this summer, two of Manchester United’s most recent attacking imports will be conspicuous by their absence. Slovenia’s Benjamin Šeško and Cameroon’s Bryan Mbeumo, both signed by the Old Trafford club in the 2025 summer window, saw their nations fall short in the final stages of qualifying and will watch the tournament from afar.

Šeško, the 20-year-old striker acquired from Red Bull Salzburg, arrived in Manchester with a reputation for explosive finishing and towering aerial presence. On the club stage he has flashed the raw tools that convinced Erik ten Hag to invest, yet his first season in England has coincided with a sobering international reality. Slovenia entered the penultimate matchday of UEFA qualifying with a glimmer of hope, only to unravel at home against Kosovo, losing 2-0 and sealing their fate. The defeat capped a winless campaign for Matjaž Kek’s side, leaving Šeško to lament a missed opportunity on the sport’s grandest stage. With Slovenia’s last World Cup appearance dating back to 2010, the young No. 9 must now wait at least four more years for another crack at qualification.

For Mbeumo, the disappointment is equally acute, though tinged with a sense of déjà vu. The Brentford-born winger, who pledged his international future to Cameroon in 2022, experienced the euphoria of Qatar three years ago, featuring in all three group-stage matches and playing a pivotal role in the 3-3 thriller against Serbia. Hopes of a return engagement appeared alive when the Indomitable Lions finished second in their qualifying group and secured a playoff berth as one of the four best runners-up. But a semifinal showdown with DR Congo proved one hurdle too many; a narrow defeat ended Cameroon’s dream and confirmed Mbeumo’s absence from North America. DR Congo went on to defeat Nigeria on penalties in the final, clinching the last CAF ticket.

United invested heavily in both players believing they could grow into difference-makers on the club scene, yet their early international setbacks underscore how difficult it can be for even elite talents to drag nations to the World Cup. Šeško’s solitary goal in qualifying and Mbeumo’s quiet playoff series illustrate the thin margins that separate jubilation and heartbreak. For now, their focus shifts back to Old Trafford, where they will attempt to channel the sting of missing out into fuel for the upcoming Premier League and Champions League campaigns. The next opportunity to grace a World Cup will not arrive until 2030—by which time both forwards hope to have matured into the match-winners their countries so desperately need.