Group B may be the most democratic draw of the entire tournament. There is no dominant powerhouse — instead, there is a host nation without a single World Cup point in their history, an unexpected Italian giant-killer from the Balkans, a reliable Swiss outfit forever chasing a breakthrough, and a Gulf state for whom simply being here is the achievement. Four different stories. Two spots in the round of 16.
Group B Teams
Canada
A hockey nation in search of a football identity
In Canada, 'sport' has long meant one thing: ice hockey. Football existed on the margins — just three Canadian clubs in MLS, no independent domestic league until 2019. And yet it was football that gave Canada their first major international gold: at the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, a team from the club Galt won twice with a combined score of 11-0.
On the global stage, Canada's history is far more modest. Their first qualification campaign ended in heartbreak and a two-tournament boycott. Only from 1970 did they begin qualifying regularly, energised by the creation of the North American Soccer League — where Pele, Eusebio and Gerd Muller all played.
The 1986 World Cup: a frozen stadium between a cemetery and a prison
Canada's first World Cup place was secured with a touch of ingenuity. The decisive qualifier against Honduras was staged on the island of Newfoundland in autumn — temperatures around -10°C, biting wind, bone-chilling humidity. The stadium sat between two cemeteries and a prison. The Hondurans were broken before kick-off. Canada won, went to Mexico — and lost all three games without scoring a goal.
Football then virtually disappeared in Canada. Top players drifted to Scandinavia and the lower divisions of English football; immigrant clubs folded. Some Canadian-born players switched allegiances entirely — Yassine Bounou, born in Quebec, chose Morocco.
The Herdman revolution
Everything changed in 2018 with the appointment of John Herdman. When he declared he would take Canada to the World Cup, the reaction was scepticism bordering on mockery. But Herdman had a plan. Drawing on the academies of three MLS clubs and a government programme called 'Canada Soccer's Pathway', he reshaped Canadian football's culture from the inside. Within four years, he had hauled the national team dozens of places up the FIFA rankings and delivered a World Cup place for 2022.
In Qatar, Canada lost all three games — to Morocco (1-2), Croatia (1-4) and Belgium (0-1) — but made a vivid impression: young, quick, fearless. No points, but proof that the project was working.
Style and key players
Canada play direct, vertical, high-intensity football — pressing hard without the ball and transitioning quickly when they win it. Head coach Jesse Marsh, a product of the Red Bull coaching tree, has added structure and organisation to the raw athleticism.
Jonathan David (Juventus) — the all-time leading scorer in Canadian football history: 39 goals in 75 appearances. Born in New York, raised in Canada, he could have played for the United States but chose the red maple leaf.
Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) — the most recognisable face of Canadian football, but also the most fragile. His fitness remains the key question ahead of the tournament. Without him, Canada lose significant attacking threat.
Steven Eustaquio (on loan at LA Galaxy) — the quarterback of the midfield, allowing Marsh to shift between 4-4-2, 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 without losing coherence. Named Canada's best player in 2023.
Jesse Marsh (52) — former head coach of New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg and Leeds United. The principles he absorbed in the Red Bull system have transferred seamlessly to this squad.
Switzerland
A century of almost
If football was born in Britain, its first home on the continent was Switzerland. English students founded the country's first club in 1860; the federation followed in 1895; Switzerland became one of FIFA's founding members in 1904. Their first official match was a 0-1 defeat to France in 1905.
The 'Red Crusaders' have appeared at 13 World Cups. Their best results came at the 1934, 1938 and 1954 editions — the 1954 quarter-final, a 5-7 defeat to Austria played on home soil in Lausanne, remains the most goals ever scored in a World Cup match. A prolonged crisis in the second half of the 20th century stemmed from a peculiar source: the country's French- and German-speaking footballers followed incompatible football philosophies, and no coach could unite them. The breakthrough came under Roy Hodgson, who reunited the squad for the 1994 World Cup. Since then, Switzerland have qualified for every tournament except 2010.
Flawless qualification
Switzerland navigated their qualifying group — alongside Sweden, Slovenia and Kosovo — without a single defeat. Six games, two draws, just two goals conceded. Sweden, theoretically their main rivals, imploded and finished last. The 'Red Crusaders' were comfortable throughout.
Style and key players
Head coach Murat Yakin favours a 4-3-3 built around explosive wing play and an intricate, interchangeable midfield trio. The system is dynamic: when one midfielder pushes forward, the others cover; when the full-backs overlap, the midfield adjusts. Switzerland are difficult to pin down tactically.
Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) — the intellectual anchor of the defence. Pep Guardiola has spoken admiringly about his football intelligence; he reads the game several moves ahead and dominated every qualifier.
Granit Xhaka (Sunderland) — the captain and record appearance holder (143 caps). His leadership, set-piece delivery and steel in midfield are the team's emotional heartbeat.
Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund) — the goalkeeper and the squad's most valuable player. He only broke into the national team in 2021 but is now indispensable.
Murat Yakin — familiar to fans of Russian football from a difficult spell at Spartak Moscow in 2014-15. He found his true calling with the Swiss national side, guiding them to Euro 2024 where they eliminated Italy in the last 16.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Heirs to the European Brazilians
Bosnian footballers played a significant role in Yugoslavian football long before Bosnia and Herzegovina had an independent national team. Yugoslavia were known as the 'European Brazilians' — technically gifted, twice European Championship finalists, twice World Cup semi-finalists, four-time Olympic medallists including gold in Rome in 1960. Bosnian players were always in the mix.
The independent team's story began in turbulent times. Civil war meant no official matches during the country's earliest years as a footballing nation. Their first official game was a 0-2 defeat to Albania in 1995. Progress was slow, punctuated by collapses: in World Cup qualifying for 2002, they lost to everyone except Liechtenstein.
The turning point came in 2007, when 13 players staged a protest demanding reform of the football federation. The subsequent shake-up brought through a young generation including Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic. Their first World Cup finally arrived in Brazil 2014 — defeats to Argentina (1-2) and Nigeria (0-1), then a consolation win over Iran (3-1).
The night Italy went to hell in Zenica
Qualifying for 2026 was chaotic. In a group with Austria, Romania, Cyprus and San Marino, Bosnia led early before dropping points to Cyprus (2-2, conceding a 96th-minute penalty) and drawing the final game against Austria (1-1). Into the play-offs.
First, Wales — Bosnia trailed on aggregate but Edin Dzeko equalised before the shootout, where a missed penalty from Brennan Johnson and a decisive save sealed it. Then Italy. When footage circulated of Azzurri players celebrating the Bosnia draw, expecting easy passage to the World Cup, Pjanic publicly promised them 'hell in Zenica'. He delivered. The stadium roared for 120 minutes. A red card for Italy, an equaliser 11 minutes from the end of extra time, then the shootout — Esposito and Cristante cracked. Bosnia are going to the World Cup.
Style and key players
Head coach Sergej Barbarez — himself a former Bundesliga striker who played alongside Dmitri Bulykin at Bayer Leverkusen — has built a team in his own image: relentless, physical and utterly committed. The 4-4-2 is pressed with extraordinary intensity; full-backs push into the opposition half, and somehow the team always gets back to defend.
Edin Dzeko (40, Schalke) — the legend who refuses to retire. 73 international goals — the national all-time record. The second-highest scorer in the current squad has four. The rest of the team are playing in a different statistical universe.
Esmir Bajraktarevic (PSV) — the dribbling genius of the squad. Made eight successful dribbles in the historic win over Italy; held his nerve for the decisive penalty in the same game. His goal in qualifying against Romania (3-1) drew immediate comparisons to a young Messi.
Nikola Vasilj (St. Pauli, Bundesliga) — the goalkeeper, currently among the top three in the Bundesliga for saves and goals prevented per 90 minutes. His play-off heroics showcased an ice-cold mentality when it mattered most.
Qatar
An academy project meets the world stage
Qatar is a nation that built its football from scratch. Through the 1970s and 80s, the national team tried naturalisation — players from Pakistan, India and Latin America. The experiment failed. The answer was the Aspire Academy, established in 2004 with a mandate to develop Qatari talent by creating genuine competition for local youth through an Africa-wide scouting network that evaluated over 17 million boys. The Belgian club Eupen and Spain's Cultural Leonesa were purchased as development pathways for graduates.
The results eventually came: an Asian Cup triumph in 2019 (with 10 Aspire graduates in the squad), and a second continental title in 2023 — this time without conceding in the group stage, beating Iran in the semi-final and Jordan in the final. But the 2022 World Cup, played on home soil, was a humbling experience: last in the group, zero points, three defeats each by a two-goal margin.
Qualification through turbulence
The road to 2026 was anything but smooth. Comprehensive defeats to the UAE (0-3 and 1-5), Uzbekistan (0-3) and Kyrgyzstan (1-3) in the third round of Asian qualifying exposed the gap between regional competition and international standards. Only a 1-0 win over Iran kept them in contention. In the decisive fourth-round matches, a goalless draw with Oman and a 2-1 win over the UAE — with the decisive goal scored by naturalised Portuguese defender Pedro Miguel, nicknamed 'Ro-Ro' in honour of Ronaldo and Romario — secured their place.
Style and key players
Head coach Julen Lopetegui — best known outside Spain for being sacked by the Spanish national team on the eve of the 2018 World Cup after agreeing to join Real Madrid — has arranged the squad in a 4-2-3-1 with an emphasis on the attacking players. The defensive midfield pairing lack the positional intelligence to cover effectively, an issue that stronger sides will exploit.
Akram Afif (Al-Sadd) — the most recognisable product of the Aspire Academy. Versatile across both flanks, primarily a creator. Provided two assists in the decisive win over the UAE that secured Qatar's World Cup place.
Almoez Ali (Al-Duhail) — the all-time leading scorer: over 50 goals in 188 appearances. His goals at the 2019 Asian Cup — including a hat-trick against North Korea — established him as the team's central attacking figure.
Boualem Khoukhi (35) — the defensive rock. Barely misses a game through injury and brings an authority to the backline that the rest of the squad cannot replicate.
Julen Lopetegui — after difficult spells at Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United, the Spaniard found a platform where his pragmatic approach has at least produced results at the qualification stage.
Who Advances from Group B
|
Team |
Mostbet |
1xBet / Melbet / 22Bet |
1Win |
|
Switzerland |
1.08 |
1.09 |
1.09 |
|
Canada |
1.27 |
1.24 |
1.23 |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
1.27 |
1.29 |
1.29 |
|
Qatar |
2.50 |
2.43 |
2.41 |
Switzerland's 1.08-1.09 is not a betting market, it is a formality. The Red Crusaders have the squad, the coaching, and the tournament experience to navigate this group with authority. Canada and Bosnia are priced identically by most bookmakers — and that tells its own story. The hosts carry the weight of expectation and the energy of 50,000 supporters; Bosnia carry the memory of Italy and the fury of Zenica. Their opening game against each other is the group's defining moment. Qatar (2.41-2.50) — the odds are more generous than the football warrants, a reflection of the new format's expanded access rather than genuine optimism.
Who Wins Group B
|
Team |
Mostbet |
1xBet / Melbet / 22Bet |
1Win |
|
Switzerland |
1.90 |
1.81 |
1.90 |
|
Canada |
3.50 |
3.62 |
3.50 |
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina |
3.50 |
4.50 |
3.60 |
|
Qatar |
35.00 |
30.00 |
34.00 |
Switzerland (1.81-1.90) are clear favourites to top the group, and first place matters: the bracket from second place leads to the Netherlands or Brazil by the round of 16. Yakin's side will be highly motivated to win every game. Canada (3.50-3.62) are genuine contenders for top spot if Davies is fit and David is sharp. Bosnia (3.50-4.50) — the wide spread between bookmakers suggests uncertainty about how seriously to take them after the Italy result. If the Dragons beat Canada in the opener, the equation changes entirely. Qatar (30.00-35.00) — for the most committed optimists only.
Our Predictions
Switzerland advance — the only question is first or second. First place is strongly preferred: the softer bracket in the knockout stage is a significant reward. Canada will record their first-ever World Cup victory in this group, ending a 40-year wait for three points on football's biggest stage. The second spot will be decided by the Canada-Bosnia opener — the most important match in the group and one of the most intriguing games of the entire first round.
Bosnia finish third with their heads held high. Qatar finish fourth and leave the tournament without a point — though the country has long since learned to measure its football progress in decades rather than games.