Guide to Group B World Cup 2026: Switzerland leads, Canada is determined to go far

Switzerland will enter the 2026 World Cup in a favorable group with Qatar and Bosnia & Herzegovina making only their second participation in the tournament, while Canada, the co-hosts, aim to progress beyond the group stage. In fact, Switzerland is the only team among the four teams to have ever reached the knockout round of a World Cup, with their best results being the quarter-finals in 1934, 1938 and 1954. Under the guidance of coach Murat Yakin, Switzerland has a strong and confident squad that will easily get through the round before facing bigger challenges in the knockout rounds. For Canada, Qatar and Bosnia & Herzegovina, the challenge is the same: how to get past the group stage. With the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams, eight of the 12 third-placed teams will advance to the next round, so there is still plenty of opportunity and hope to qualify for the knockout round.

Group B match schedule (all times according to BST):

• June 12, 8pm: Canada vs Bosnia & Herzegovina – Toronto Stadium, Ontario, Canada
• June 13, 8pm: Qatar vs Switzerland – San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, California, USA
• June 18, 8pm: Switzerland vs Bosnia & Herzegovina – Los Angeles Stadium, California, USA
• June 18, 11pm: Canada vs Qatar – BC Place Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• June 24, 8pm: Switzerland vs Canada – BC Place Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• June 24, 8pm: Bosnia & Herzegovina vs Qatar – Seattle Stadium, Washington, USA

Canada is co-host of the 2026 World Cup along with Mexico and the United States and is returning to the tournament for the third time, having participated in 1986 and 2022. Coach Jesse Marsch has described his 26-player squad as "the best ever assembled" and there are hopes that Canada can progress past the group stage for the first time. Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies is the most popular player in the squad, but he is racing against time to recover from a hamstring injury ahead of the first match against Bosnia & Herzegovina on June 12.

Canadian lineup:

• Goalkeepers: Dayne St Clair (Inter Miami), Maxime Crepeau (Orlando City), Owen Goodman (Crystal Palace).
• Defenders: Alistair Johnston (Celtic), Derek Cornelius (Marseille), Richie Laryea (Toronto), Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split), Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire), Luc de Fougerolles (Fulham), Moise Bombito (Nice), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Alfie Jones (Middlesbrough).
• Midfielders: Stephen Eustaquio (Porto), Ismael Kone (Sassuolo), Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal), Mathieu Choiniere (Los Angeles FC), Ali Ahmed (Norwich City), Nathan Saliba (Anderlecht), Liam Millar (Hull City), Marcelo Flores (Tigres UANL), Jacob Shaffelburg (Toronto), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto).
• Strikers: Jonathan David (Juventus), Cyle Larin (Southampton), Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal), Promise David (Union SG).

Star player: Alphonso Davies – This player is the obvious choice and if he is fit enough to play. At 25 years old, the left-back is Canada's best player and his experience of playing in big games with Bayern could play a key role in the team's journey through the group stage.

Standout young talent: Niko Sigur – Able to play as both right-back and defensive midfielder, Sigur is intelligent and competitive. He has moved from Croatia to Canada and is loved by coach Marsch, so is expected to participate in all three matches of the group.

FIFA rating: 30. World Cup winning odds: 200/1, according to UK bookmakers.

Bosnia & Herzegovina ended their 12-year wait to return to the World Cup when they qualified for the European play-offs to qualify for the tournament. Edin Dzeko is a prominent name in the squad and will be participating in his second World Cup at the age of 40. Dzeko featured in Bosnia's only participation in 2014, and defender Sead Kolasinac is the only other member of the squad to have played in that tournament.

Bosnia squad:

• Goalkeepers: Nikola Vasilj (St Pauli), Martin Zlomislic (Rijeka), Osman Hadzikic (Slaven Belupo).
• Defenders: Sead Kolasinac (Atalanta), Amar Dedic (Benfica), Nihad Mujakic (Gaziantep), Nikola Katic (Schalke), Tarik Muharemovic (Sassuolo), Stjepan Radeljic (Rijeka), Dennis Hadzikadunic (Sampdoria), Nidal Celik (Lens).
• Midfielders: Amir Hadziahmetovic (Hull City), Ivan Sunjic (Pafos), Ivan Basic (Astana), Dzenis Burnic (Karlsruher), Ermin Mahmic (Slovan Liberec), Benjamin Tahirovic (Brondby), Amar Memic (Viktoria Plzen), Armin Gigovic (Young Boys), Kerim Alajbegovic (RB Salzburg), Esmir Bajraktarevic (PSV Eindhoven).
• Strikers: Ermedin Demirovic (VfB Stuttgart), Jovo Lukic (Universitatea Cluj), Samed Bazdar (Jagiellonia Bialystok), Haris Tabakovic (Borussia Monchengladbach), Edin Dzeko (Schalke).

Coach: Sergej Barbarez. Star player: Edin Dzeko – Despite his age, he still proves his ability to play in big matches and under pressure, even at the end of his career. Young talent to stand out: Kerim Alajbegovic – 18 years old, Alajbegovic has had a breakthrough year at Red Bull Salzburg with 17 goal contributions (goals and assists) in 44 appearances, as well as scoring the decisive penalty in each of Bosnia's play-off matches.

FIFA rating: 65. Odds of winning the World Cup: 500/1.

Qatar returned to the tournament after successfully qualifying for the first time. Four years ago, they lost all three group matches when they were in a tough group with the Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador. Over the past four years, Qatar has improved and finished fourth in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifying round after home and away matches against Iran, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea.