Gianluigi Buffon, Alexis Sanchez, Naby Keita and more: The best XI of players not at the 2018 World Cup

International heavyweights including Italy, Holland and Chile failed to progress though qualifying, meaning that some of the best players in the world won't be in Russia next summer

The line-up for the 2018 World Cup is close to completion after Australia beat Honduras 3-1 to book their spot in Russia next summer.

The list of 32 nations will be completed when New Zealand play Peru in the early hours of Wednesday morning, with the tie hanging in the balance following a tense first-leg which ended 0-0.

Two nations – Iceland and Panama – will be making their World Cup debut next summer, while Senegal and Egypt will be making their second and third appearances respectively.

But a number of teams with serious international pedigree have missed out on a spot at the tournament, meaning some of the world’s biggest stars will be sat at home twiddling their thumbs come next summer.

Four-time world champions Italy will be conspicuous by their absence, along with fellow European giants Holland.

Austria, Wales and the Czech Republic have also struggled over the two years and won't be playing in Russia.

And, further afield, the likes of Chile, the United States and Algeria all failed to emerge through qualifying.

Here, we take a look at some of the biggest and best players in the world who won’t get a chance to strut their stuff in Russia.