JUMP TO:
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place across North America in the biggest tournament in the event’s history.
That means Canada will have the opportunity to host several matches, with Toronto and Vancouver getting the honors. The Canadian men’s national soccer team will headline Group B, playing matches on both coasts.
While each Group B team will play at least one game in Canada, the full schedule is spread out to include games along the West Coast of the United States as well. And while the United States and Mexico will have more frequent matches throughout the tournament, Canadian fans will still get their fair share of action.
The 2026 World Cup will include 48 teams, with 32 advancing to the knockout stages, making it the largest field ever. Canada will be one of those teams, and the three others in its group will find themselves playing true road games at times.
Here’s a look at how Group B will shake out for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, including full schedules and fixtures.
2026 WORLD CUP HQ: Latest World Cup news | Full World Cup schedule | Buy World Cup tickets
World Cup Group B scheduleGroup B table
Group B fixtures
Note that the full list of match venues and times will be updated by FIFA on Dec. 6, post the World Cup draw.
BUY NOW: Get tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup on StubHub
Contesting their third-ever World Cup, Canada undoubtedly have the most talent in their national team’s history, and it’s not even remotely close. This up-and-coming CONCACAF nation is hoping to reach its first-ever World Cup knockout stage, and that is the goal for Jesse Marsch at this competition. Anything less would be hugely disappointing.
Marsch, an American, was a candidate for the USMNT job, but when passed over for Mauricio Pochettino, he went scorched-earth on the United States and has been proving the doubters wrong by elevating the level of Canada. Hired by a federation struggling financially in the wake of the John Herdman drone scandal, he has brought the focus back to on-field performance with a stronger collection of talent than Canada ever had before.
Their fortunes still heavily hinge on the health of Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies, who will be recovering from a torn ACL in the run-up to the World Cup, but Canada have recently proven they can grind out results without their biggest star.
Still, the pain of the 2022 World Cup haunts CanMNT fans, having entered that tournament with equally high hopes and finishing it without a single goal or point. Canada need to prove to the world that they belong before they can be taken seriously on this stage.
- Current FIFA world ranking: 27th
- Regional ranking: 3rd (CONCACAF)
- World Cup titles: 0
- World Cup appearances (last): 2 (2022)
- How qualified: Automatically (host)
- Coach: Jesse Marsch (USA) since May 2024
- Key player(s): Jonathan David (Juventus), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Stephen Eustaquio (Porto)
Switzerland
After qualifying for just one World Cup (USA ’94) between the 1966 and 2006 tournaments, Switzerland have become a mainstay at the top level of international football over the past two decades.
Coached by Murat Yakin since 2021, the Nati are back in the top 20 in FIFA’s world rankings after topping UEFA Group B in qualifying, winning four and drawing two of their six matches. While many of their perceived “golden generation” (such as Xherdan Shaqiri) have left the international scene, they still boast a strong core of experienced players: Sunderland‘s Granit Xhaka, Inter Milan’s Manuel Akanji and Real Betis’ Ricardo Rodriguez boast 356 senior caps between them.
Switzerland suffered a demoralising 6-1 loss to Portugal in the Round of 16 four years ago, but they have reached the quarterfinals at consecutive European Championships and haven’t lost a game in over a year.
- Current FIFA world ranking: 17th
- Regional ranking: 10th (UEFA)
- World Cup titles: 0
- World Cup appearances (last): 12 (Qatar 2022)
- How qualified: UEFA Group B winners: 6W-0L-2D
- Coach: Murat Yakin (Switzerland) since August 2021
- Key player(s): Granit Xhaka (Sunderland), Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan), Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest)
Qatar
After qualifying for their first-ever World Cup as 2022 hosts, Qatar have now secured competitive qualification for the first time in the expanded 2026 competition.
Like Saudi Arabia, Qatar have poured money into their domestic league and national team setup over the last decade, to mixed success. Literally their entire player pool plays entirely in the Qatar domestic league, and they have not called up a single individual contracted to a club outside Qatar in years. This has been an intentional push, and has largely worked, following up a disappointing 2022 World Cup showing by winning the 2023 Asian Cup.
Qatar have gone for big-name head coaches in recent years, most recently hiring former Real Madrid and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui to replace fellow Spaniard Luis Garcia who lasted less than six months and struggled in World Cup qualification. Lopetegui stepped in and led Qatar to a World Cup spot in the fourth round of qualification, having finished the third round behind Iran, Uzbekistan, and UAE.
- Current FIFA world ranking: 51
- Regional ranking: 6th (AFC)
- World Cup titles: 0
- World Cup appearances (last): 1 (2022 Qatar)
- How qualified: AFC Fourth Round Group A winner: 1W-0L-1D
- Coach: Julen Lopetegui (Spain) since May 2025
- Key player(s): Mohammed Muntari (Al Gharafa), Tarek Salman (Al Sadd), Mohammed Waad (Al Sadd)
UEFA playoff Path A winners
Path A of the UEFA playoffs consists of Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Italy host Northern Ireland in their semifinal, with Wales facing Bosnia-Herzegovina in Cardiff. The team that wins the final will qualify for the World Cup.
MORE WORLD CUP NEWS:
World Cup Group B odds and predictions
Here’s a look at the odds for each Group B team to win the group, qualify for the round of 32, and win the World Cup title, according to DraftKings.
This section will be updated after the draw when group odds are released.
WORLD CUP DRAW BREAKDOWNS:
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F
Group G | Group H | Group I | Group J | Group K | Group L
World Cup 2026 bracket for Group B
Of the four teams in Group B, either two or three will move on to the knockout rounds, depending on the results. Both the first and second-place finishers will advance, but the third-place finisher will be at risk of elimination, as only eight of the 12 third-place group finishers will move on.
The winner of Group B will face the third-place finisher from either Group E, F, G, I or J on July 2 in Vancouver. Group B’s second-place finisher will face Group A’s runner-up on June 28 in Inglewood, Calif.
If the third-place finisher in Group B advances to the knockout stage, it will face either the Group E winner or the Group D winner.
Round of 32
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Third place match
Final
MORE WORLD CUP NEWS: