Canada has been drawn to play against Switzerland, Qatar and a to-be-determined European team in Group B for the 2026 World Cup.
Jesse Marsch’s team learned two of its three group-stage opponents at Friday’s World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
After the opener against a UEFA playoff winner at BMO Field in Toronto on June 12, Canada will head to Vancouver six days later for a matchup with 2022 hosts Qatar. The team will play again at BC Place for the group finale against Switzerland on June 24.
One of Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina will complete the group following the UEFA playoffs in March.
Games in: Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Calif., Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Canada
The kick-off times will be confirmed on Saturday when FIFA reveals the World Cup’s full match schedule beginning at noon ET (5 p.m. GMT).
Canada is a tournament co-host alongside the United States and Mexico, marking the first time the country has hosted the men’s World Cup. All three nations were seeded in Pot 1 for the draw.
Next summer will be the third time Canada has competed at the World Cup, and they are yet to progress out of the group stage — or take a point — in their previous two tournament appearances, in 1986 and 2022.
Marsch’s side is 27th in the FIFA world rankings and reached the semi-final stage of the 2024 Copa America.
When are the fixtures?
- Friday, June 12: Canada vs UEFA Playoff winner (3pm ET,12pm PT, 8pm BST) — BMO Field, Toronto
- Thursday, June 18: Canada vs Qatar (6pm ET, 3pm PT, 11pm BST) — BC Place, Vancouver
- Wednesday, June 24: Switzerland vs Canada (3pm ET, 12pm PT, 8pm BST) — BC Place, Vancouver
What about the other matches?
The answer is we don’t know yet.
FIFA has announced that, for the first time ever, the full tournament schedule won’t be confirmed on the same day as the draw itself.
Instead, FIFA president Gianni Infantino will preside over a second ceremony on Saturday, beginning at 12 p.m. ET (5 p.m. GMT), where the all-important when and where for each of the fixtures will be revealed.
FIFA says the game allocation process will aim to “ensure the best possible conditions for all teams and spectators while, where possible, enabling fans all over the world to watch their teams play live across different time zones.”
The final version of the game schedule will then be confirmed in March, once the inter-confederation playoffs and European playoffs have been completed and the final 48 tournament teams confirmed.
What to know about… Qatar
Talismanic forward Akram Afif is considered one of Qatar’s best players. (Karim Jaafar / AFP via Getty Images)
What is their World Cup pedigree?
In 2022 Qatar’s dream of becoming a major footballing power took a significant step as they hosted the tournament for the first time. It marked a series of firsts — the only time the World Cup has taken place in the Middle East and the only time it has not been staged during the traditional timeframe of May, June or July (to avoid the dangerous summer heat it was held in November and December).
Results did not quite match the ambitions, with three defeats in their three Group A games: although Mohammed Muntari scoring their first (and so far only) World Cup goal in the 3-1 defeat by Senegal was a highlight.
How do they play?
Under Lopetegui, Qatar have switched between 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1, with the focus on organisation and hard work off the ball.
“We have a very balanced squad with players of different playing styles,” Lopetegui told Doha News after taking over in May.
Who is their key player?
Talismanic forward Akram Afif is considered one of Qatar’s best players. He has helped them win the AFC Asian Cup twice, and in 2024 won the Best Footballer in Asia award.
Afif has played for Villarreal, becoming the first Qatari to sign for a Spanish club, and had a previous spell with Eupen in Belgium. Now he is one of the main men for club side Al Sadd in the Qatari Stars League, where he is regularly scoring and providing assists.
Last term he struck 18 goals and created 15 in 22 matches.
Previous Maroon boss Tintin Lopez (yep, another Spaniard) called Afif a “unique player” in 2024.
“Akram is a quality player who always creates the difference,” he said. “That type of player always helps the team win in moments like this, and I hope he will always be available to help us.”
By Greg O’Keeffe
What will Canada think?
Jesse Marsch has been bold about his desired goal for Canada to win their group. That would keep Canada in Vancouver for their Round of 32 game.
And now, Marsch and Canada must feel much better about their chances: Qatar are one of the lowest-ranked Pot 3 teams and being drawn into Canada’s group should give Canada even more confidence. No Norway? No Egypt? If you’re Canada, you’re likely pumping your fists.
Remember, Canada beat Qatar 2-0 in a friendly just before the 2022 World Cup. Qatar were also the only team to finish below Canada in the final 2022 World Cup standings.
Qatar have won just two of their last eight games. They lack the game-breaking quality that Canada has. They also lack recent games against high-end opponents.
It’s the World Cup, and anything can happen. But on paper, Canada should like their chances against Qatar.
Also crucial: Canada continues to avoid teams that will have large fanbases already in Toronto and Vancouver. The likelihood of pro-Canada crowds continues to rise.
By Josh Kloke
What to know about… Switzerland
Granit Xhaka’s return to the Premier League is good news for Switzerland. (Mattia Ozbot / Getty Images)
What is their World Cup pedigree?
It is pretty standard stuff to see Switzerland at World Cups these days: their last appearance in America, in 1994, was their first qualification in 28 years, but this is now their sixth tournament in a row. The only other European teams with that sort of consistency are Germany, England, France, Spain and Portugal, three of whom have won the thing in that time. That said, the consistency also extends to their relatively limited progress after qualification: the Swiss have never won a World Cup knockout game, getting out of the groups in their past three appearances, but no further.
How do they play?
They are tactically flexible. The success at Euro 2024 came in a 3-4-3, but this year they have settled into a fairly standard 4-3-3, with a front line of doughty stalwart Breel Embolo, flanked by Nottingham Forest’s Dan Ndoye and Sevilla winger Ruben Vargas. Ricardo Rodriguez — only 33 years old, a little surprising given he seems to have been around for decades — is still patrolling the left side of defence, but one fixture who will not be around this time is Yann Sommer, who retired from the international game last year.
Who is their key player?
It is still Granit Xhaka. The Swiss captain’s move to Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer might have raised a few eyebrows, but his return to the Premier League will only be good news for coach Murat Yakin. He is still the glue that knits their midfield together, and at 33, this will probably be his last World Cup.
By Nick Miller
What will Canada think?
You could feel a sigh of relief from the Canadian contingent in the main draw hall when Switzerland was drawn as Canada’s Pot 2 opponent.
That’s no disrespect towards the European side, but considering the heavyweights in Pot 2, including two teams that beat Canada in the 2022 World Cup in Croatia and Morocco, Canada will likely feel some level of positivity in drawing Switzerland.
Canada will feel bolstered by their recent record against European teams that like to maintain possession of the ball: their back-to-back wins against Wales and Romania in the September window were Canada’s first back-to-back wins in Europe in the program’s history.
Now, any positivity will be cautioned by how well Switzerland fared against arguably the two best Concacaf teams back in June. In two friendlies in the United States, Switzerland beat Mexico 4-2, then thumped the United States 4-0 three days later. Those wins came in the middle of a six-game win streak for Switzerland through the middle of 2025 that raised their status.
Could those games against teams Marsch knows well provide some important data and video to review? Likely. Expect Marsch’s team to try and run at Switzerland as aggressively as they ever have in Vancouver to try and earn a crucial point in Canada’s final group stage game.
By Josh Kloke
What to know about… UEFA playoff A
Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy struggled in qualifying but would provide a stern test. (Stefano Rellandini / AFP via Getty Images)
Italy vs Northern Ireland and Wales vs Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the two winners meeting in the final (Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina will be the home team)
Only Brazil have won more World Cups than Italy but the Azzurri have somehow failed to reach the past two tournaments and face another serious fight to qualify for 2026. Having missed out to Norway and Erling Haaland in their group, they now host Northern Ireland in a playoff, a match which shouldn’t cause too many problems in theory, given Northern Ireland’s only competitive away victories in the past four years came at Luxembourg and San Marino.
Wales will be grateful for being drawn at home given their excellent record in Cardiff. They will have that advantage both against Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the potential final, should they make it. Wales against Italy in a one-off shootout for a World Cup place would be an incredible occasion, however Bosnia and Herzegovina were only 13 minutes away from pipping Austria to qualify from their group, while Italy lost at home to North Macedonia at the same stage four years ago, so no assumptions should be made for either semi-final.
By Nick Miller
What will Canada think?
For all the positivity that Canada must have felt early in the World Cup draw, things levelled out when they were drawn against the winner of UEFA Playoff A as the Pot 4 team in Group B.
What does that mean? There is a strong possibility that Canada could play Italy in Toronto for their World Cup opener. Toronto, of course, is a major hotbed for Italians in Canada, with Little Italy often being the best place in the city to watch previous World Cups.
Now, Italy is not a guaranteed opponent: Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Northern Ireland are the other teams in UEFA Playoff A.
Best-case scenario? Wales gets through, and Canada can fall back on their convincing friendly win in September as a confidence-builder.
What hurts Canada’s coaching staff here is that they will now have to wait three months to know their opponent. That’s precious planning time that will be divided among four possible opponents.
Given that there are Concacaf teams in the FIFA Playoff games and Canada could not be drawn against one of those teams, it always felt likely that Canada would get one of the UEFA playoff teams. Now, Canada will wait to see whether they, as a Pot 1 team, will also have to play against a team in Italy that would otherwise be considered a Pot 1 team themselves, despite their recent struggles.
By Josh Kloke