Group B will determine who of Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, and Switzerland will emerge to be the best of what looks like the weakest grouping in the tournament. That doesn’t mean it won’t be fun as all of these teams can compete and there are even some fuzzy cultural ties between two of the countries that might make for an interesting dynamic. At the end of the day, Switzerland is favored to win the group with Canada looking capable to be runners up. Given that this might be a surprisingly
competitive group one of the eight third place teams that will advance may also come out of Group B.
Schedule
Matchday 1
- June 12, 3:00 PM EST — Canada vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BMO Field, Toronto)
- June 13, 3:00 PM EST — Qatar vs. Switzerland (Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA)
Matchday 2
- June 18, 3:00 PM EST — Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina (SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA)
- June 18, 6:00 PM EST — Canada vs. Qatar (BC Place, Vancouver)
Matchday 3
- June 24, 3:00 PM EST — Canada vs. Switzerland (BC Place, Vancouver)
- June 24, 3:00 PM EST — Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar (Seattle Stadium, Seattle, WA)
Canada
After losing to America in hockey (twice) and soccer (again) to start the year, Canada will look to try to make it out of a potentially tricky group. The schedule is favorable to Canada as the team will face its toughest opponent last in the group and may very well know their fate ahead of taking on Switzerland. It would be easy to write off Canada’s tactics under American Manager Jessie Marsch as a sortof weirdo gimmick that relies on running fast and getting the ball in front of goal to score opportunisticly in the resulting chaotic scrum. Canada has a strong core with arguably the most proven striker in Concacaf Jonathan David leading the line, Stephen Estiquito anchoring midfield, and Moise Bombito at center back. At one point Alphonso Davies was the best player in Concacaf but has struggled with injuries in recent years. He will miss the first group match and Marsch will hope to have him back for at least some of the tournament.
FIFA Ranking: 27
Odds of Winning the Group: Not great but higher than becoming the 51st state.
One to Watch: Jonathan David – Canada will need to score goals and David will need to score them.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
[Extreme Roger Bennett Impression] “It seems unfair that teams have to face both Bosnia AND Herzegovina…” OK that’s out of my system. The team won their place in the World Cup thanks to Esmir Bajraktarevic, a player who was born in the United States to parents who fled Bosnia to Switzerland before eventually settling in Appleton, Wisconsin. The PSV attacker scored the game winning penalty to send Italy home, booking BiH to their second ever World Cup. The team will play in a 4-4-2 and stay compact defensively while trying to hit on the counter. That starts with Atalanta Center Back Sead Kolašinac with right back Amar Dedić getting forward on the counter, Ivan Šunjić and Benjamin Tahirović anchoring the midfield and trying to work the aforementioned Bajraktarevic into good attacking spots to set up the indomitable Edin Džeko.
FIFA Ranking: 71
Odds of Winning the Group: NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS – they beat Italy to get here and at the very least may give Canada a run for their money as potential group runners up.
One to Watch: Edin Džeko, still. At 40 years old he has scored six goals in 9 games across 2025-26.
Switzerland
The Swiss come into the tournament having already won Group B in UEFA qualifying and have earned a reputation in recent World Cups as a team that can reach the Round of 16. With the exception of two players in the domestic league, the Swiss players are in the top flights of Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and the first and second English divisions. They are led by the venerable Granit Xhaka in midfield, feature world class center back Manuel Akanji, Borussia Dortmund netminder Gregor Kobe, and the crafty Dan Ndoy in the attack. Manager Murat Yankin values tactical flexibility rooted in defensive solidity.
Switzerland has a sizable population with roots in Bosnia and Herzegovina who fled the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s including Xhaka.
FIFA Ranking: 17
Odds of Winning the Group: You couldn’t exactly set a Swiss watch to it, but a convincing knockoff would suffice.
One to Watch: Breel Embolo – In 12 matches across 2025-26 he has 8 goals for Switzerland and needs to keep that rate up if the Swiss are to move past the first elimination round this year.
Qatar
After qualifying in 2022 as hosts, Qatar proved they belonged in this tournament as AFC fourth round Group A winners (I’m not sure what that means). However, they are defending Asian Cup champions and are managed by Julian Lopetegui who crashed out at Real Madrid and is clinging to a 2020 Europa League title and kinda being OK at Wolverhampton Wonderers has solid experience including a Europa League championship to his name. In general, the team sits in a low block and tries to hit on the counter relying on Akram Afif to score or create for striker Almoez Ali or do something good on a set piece.
FIFA Ranking: 51
Odds of Winning the Group: Well… they didn’t beat Italy to make it to the tournament.
One to Watch: Defensive midfielder Mohamed al-Mannai will be crucial to what Qatar needs to do in order to get out of the group – gunk up the midfield and move the ball forward in transition.
