Group B preview, predictions, players to watch, matches Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar, Switzerland, schedule and teams

Group B preview

The second group to start, with hosts Canada opening their tournament against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto. Switzerland and Qatar complete the quartet in what is shaping up to be one of the most interesting teams this summer.

A winning team on paper for either side, but Switzerland will start as favorites alongside Canada. However, don’t count Bosnia and Herzegovina out after knocking Italy out of the play-off final with quality.

Group B Fix and Where to Watch

Now that you know the schedule, let’s look at all the teams in Group B in detail.

CANADA: 2026 World Cup preview, star player, prediction

Trainer: Jesse Marsh
Eligibility: They are partners
Best World Cup: Group stage (1986, 2022)

Canada is hosting the World Cup on home soil for the first time, and the weight of that event is the biggest gift and the biggest burden Jesse Marsch’s team carries in Group B.

When they arrived at Qatar 2022 as full qualifiers, it felt like a moment of success, but now the expectations are different.

Marsch, who took over in 2024 and guided Canada to the semi-finals of the Copa America before bowing out with Argentina, has assembled a team capable of causing surprises.

The concern, as the competition draws closer, is intensity. Alphonso Davies suffered a hamstring injury in the Champions League semi-final and arrived in camp doubtful for the first leg, while other key names in the squad have scored in the final weeks of the club’s season.

However, no team in Group B will enjoy playing Canada in front of a passionate home crowd.

Star Player: Jonathan David’s time to shine

Canada’s all-time leading scorer with 39 goals in 75 games, Jonathan David enters this tournament as the centerpiece of everything Marsch wants to do going forward.

His time at Juventus was less productive than his Lille years, seven goals in 38 games in all competitions, but no one doubts the quality of the player who scored 87 goals in 178 games during his time in Ligue 1.

At the age of 26 and in the World Cup at home, this is the moment the striker was built for. If Canada is going to make history, it’s probably going to be through him.

Prediction: Canada will find its way to the knockout stages

Canada should qualify for this group. Having their hosts helps a lot, as well as playing in a draw that has spared them from the most dangerous sides in this competition.

But nothing is guaranteed, and the opening game against Bosnia, the team that just knocked out Italy, could be the game that decides their tournament.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

Trainer: Sergej Barbarez
Eligibility: UEFA Playoff Path A winners
Best World Cup: Group stage (2014)

They do it the hard way. Sergej Barbarez’s side navigated the UEFA playoffs with nerves of steel, beating Wales on penalties in Cardiff before a stunning 4-1 victory over Italy in Zenica sent the country into the celebratory mood.

Bosnia and Herzegovina returned to the World Cup for only the second time in their history, 12 years on from Brazil, and they arrived after their country looked for a surprise result.

Barbarez, himself a Bosnian football legend, has built his side on high power and an aggressive physical set-up. Benjamin Tahirovic and Armin Gigovic provide the engine in midfield. Stuttgart’s Ermedin Demirovic is doing the dirty work and playing links. And in front of everything, at the age of 40 and preparing for the last great act of an extraordinary career, Edin Dzeko.

The team is mainly a diaspora system, eight players come from German teams spread across the top three divisions, others are scattered in Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and Eastern Europe.

No more Miralem Pjanic; the former Juventus and Barcelona midfielder retired in December 2025, leaving Dzeko as the sole survivor of Brazil’s golden generation.

Star Player: Dzeko is still in his forties

Perhaps the most important story of the entire tournament. Dzeko turned 40 in March and is currently playing in the 2.Bundesliga with Schalke, where he became the league’s oldest goalscorer earlier this season.

He scored six goals in the qualifying campaign, including a crucial late equalizer against Italy that forced a penalty kick. He is no longer the player who tore up the Premier League at Manchester City or terrorized the defense at Roma, but what remains is his experience.

Prediction: Beat Qatar and trust your luck

Bosnia is as dangerous as any team built on one passing man can be. They will not make life easy for anyone in this group. But the quality and experience gap between them and Switzerland is significant, and Canada will fancy their chances. The third place is the actual roof.

QATAR

Trainer: Julen Lopetegui
Eligibility: AFC Fourth Round Group Winners
Best World Cup: Group stage (2022)

Qatar’s path to North America was not a quiet one. Back-to-back Asian Cup champions in 2019 and 2023, advanced to the World Cup qualifiers, finishing fourth in their third-round group, losing 3-0 to Uzbekistan before progressing to the finals to secure their place.

That tension, along with the circumstances of their appointment of Julen Lopetegui in May 2025, speaks to the team still searching for its identity in the world.

Lopetegui is a name Premier League fans will know well, two spells in England with Wolves and West Ham, both short, both difficult.

His record with Qatar so far has read just two wins, one of which came in his first game.

Almost the entire squad is drawn from the Qatar Stars League, which gives the team a level of club chemistry that international sides rarely enjoy, but at the same time limits their exposure to a special kind of World Cup football.

Star Player: Afif has a chance to play on the world stage

A two-time Asian Player of the Year, Akram Afif is Qatar’s most technically gifted player and a creative engine for Lopetegui to build upon.

Notably, he contributed 11 assists in World Cup qualifying, the most of any player in the entire AFC confederation. He is fast, direct and able to produce real quality sessions.

The question that has followed him throughout his career is whether he can translate the games built on the comfort of the Qatar Stars League to the big stages.

Prediction: Qatar face an early exit

Qatar are the weakest in this group and actually face an uphill task to reach the round of 32. The three teams that went with them in the group are all better on paper.

However, they cannot be completely destroyed. Afif and Almoez Ali are legitimate threats, and Lopetegui’s brilliance gives them an edge over sides who have been underestimating their formation.

A third-place finish in a possible knockout round as one of the top eight third-placed teams is a very good result.

SWITZERLAND

Trainer: Murat Yakin
Eligibility: Winners of UEFA Group B
Best World Cup: Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954)

Switzerland, on paper, are the best team in Group B. Ranked 17th in the world, with a squad built around proven European talent, Yakin’s side arrive in North America with a genuine belief that they can go further than the last 16 exit that has become almost a norm at recent World Cups.

In the last five World Cup matches, they have been out of that stage. The pursuit of a quarter-final berth is a narrow goal.

The core of the team is very good. Gregor Kobel is one of the best goalkeepers in the Bundesliga. Manuel Akanji at Inter Milan is a World Cup quality defender.

And in midfield, Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka is captaining an unprecedented fourth consecutive World Cup and remains the pace-setter and tone-maker for the rest of the team.

Behind the experienced guards, there is youth and energy in the form of Ardon Jashari at AC Milan, Dan Ndoye at Nottingham Forest and Noah Okafor at Leeds United.

Yakin has been incredibly effective in selecting his team, combining experienced veterans with young talents.

The loss of Xherdan Shaqiri, Yann Sommer and Haris Seferovic to international retirement removed some of the most recognizable names from previous tournaments, but the overall quality did not drop.

Star Player: Big Granit will lead the Swiss

At 33 and 145 caps, Xhaka is preparing for his fourth and, probably, last World Cup. His move from Bayer Leverkusen to Sunderland raised eyebrows, but his quality quickly shone through, playing a major role in the Wearsider’s Europa League place a year after being promoted to the Premier League.

He is a Swiss international player, their leader and their most important footballer. He will probably be one of the best midfielders in the tournament.

Prediction: Top spot in Switzerland

Switzerland should top the group. Their quality, experience and tactical organization give them a clear edge over the other three sides, and while Canada on home soil will be a difficult final group game, the Swiss have the tools to handle the event. The appearance of the last 16 is the floor.

Group B table predicted