# Eight of Ten Most Populous Nations Miss World Cup

Eight of the ten most populous countries, including India and China, are not participating in the current FIFA World Cup. This highlights a global disparity between population size and football development, with smaller nations dominating the tournament. The absence underscores the challenges of growing the sport in the world's largest countries.

**Importance:** 2/5

## Sources

### Sports
- [BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621je3we82o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss) — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 09:09:18 GMT