What you NEED to know about the CanMNT's 2026 Group B opponents | Powered by Moneris
The draw is complete - the CanMNT now knows which teams they’ll face next summer at the 2026 World Cup.
Joining co-hosts Canada in Group B will be Switzerland, Qatar and the UEFA Playoff A winner (Italy/Wales/Bosnia & Herzegovina/Northern Ireland), in what is a pretty solid draw for this Canadian team, all things considered.
The stage is set. Who triumphs? 🏆@aramco | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/21qBVC6KlE
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 5, 2025
It won’t be an easy journey for this side, who will open the tournament against the UEFA Playoff A winner at BMO Field, before rounding off their group stage play with matches against Qatar and Switzerland, but they’ll know that things could’ve also been a lot harder for them, too.
That’s reflected in the fact that when you look at the draw purely by FIFA Rankings, Canada’s group is the seventh toughest group among the 12 drawn out on Friday, and based on the Elo Ratings (which are a bit more reflective of the last two years), Canada’s group is actually the easiest.
Granted, however, there’s also a lot of uncertainty around Canada’s group, as these FIFA Rankings and Elo Ratings calculations weigh the four UEFA Playoff A hopefuls by their average FIFA Rank and Elo Rating.
Here's how all of the groups rank in terms of FIFA Rankings and Elo Ratings. For context, beside each team, their FIFA Ranking is the first figure, and their Elo Rating is the second figure. For the playoff teams, the average of their FIFA Ranking and Elo Rating was used. (All data via FIFA Rankings, eloratings.net)
For example, if the favoured Italy, who are 12th in the FIFA Rankings and 18th in the Elo Ratings, wins that playoff, the difficulty of Canada’s group will increase significantly compared to if Wales (32nd in the FIFA Rankings, 40th in the Elo Ratings), Northern Ireland (69th in the FIFA Rankings, 64th in Elo Ratings) or Bosnia and Herzegovina (71st in the FIFA Rankings, 68th in the Elo Ratings) were to win that playoff. To get an idea of how much so, consider this - Italy’s qualification would immediately give Canada the second-hardest group in terms of FIFA Rankings and the eighth-hardest group in the Elo Ratings, whereas the other three teams wouldn’t change the weighted rankings all that much.
Safe to say, when considering that, it shows why many hoping for an easier path for Canada will be cheering against the Azzurri in March, as securing one of the other three UEFA Playoff A sides would give Canada a much more favourable group.
DRAW REACTION 🎙️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) December 5, 2025
Presented by @moneris
What did Jesse Marsch make of his group, as the CanMNT 🇨🇦 get drawn with Switzerland 🇨🇭, Qatar 🇶🇦 and possibly Italy 🇮🇹?
"I think playing Italy would be outstanding - there would be a lot of Italian Canadians at the match... and they… pic.twitter.com/8pvYneiGTR
At the same time, Canada will look at Switzerland (17th in FIFA Rankings, 13th in the Elo Ratings) and Qatar (51st in the FIFA Rankings, 89th in the Elo Ratings) as their pot 2 and pot 3 teams and feel that they did pretty well for themselves there, which is why others will welcome the possibility of opening the tournament against Italy.
Among the pot 2 teams, Switzerland are the 5th-highest ranked team in terms of FIFA Rankings, and the 4th-highest ranked team in terms of Elo Ratings, showing that they’ll be a solid team, but one that Canada, who themselves are 27th in the FIFA Rankings and 25th in the Elo Ratings, will feel relatively confident against. Ultimately, there weren’t going to be any bad pot two teams anyway, so the more important thing to consider here is stylistic fit, and Canada matches up a lot better against Switzerland than some of the other pot two teams like Senegal, Croatia, Uruguay, Colombia and others, for example.
Meanwhile, among pot 3 teams, Qatar are the 10th-highest ranked team in terms of FIFA Rankings, and the 12th-ranked team in terms of the Elo Ratings, showing why Canada will be extremely pleased to get them out of the draw. Simply put, that was probably the best-case scenario for them when it came to their pot three draw.
Therefore, it’s fair to say that Canada did pretty solidly for themselves, all things considered. On paper, they are capable of winning their group, and should certainly be in contention to make it to the knockout stages - there were some draws where their ability to do the latter would’ve been put in question, no doubt.
With all of that in mind, however, here’s a quick look at what you need to know about each of Canada’s prospective World Cup opponents in Group B. 
Switzerland (FIFA Rank #17, Elo Rank #13):
13th World Cup
Best finish: Quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954)
To begin, Switzerland is a fascinating side to monitor, because they’ve made a habit of playing in these tournaments - they’ve qualified for six consecutive World Cups, and have participated in five of the last six European Championships.
At the same time, across the 10 major tournaments (World Cup or Euros) they’ve played in during the 2000s, they’ve made a habit of being eliminated in either the Round of 16 (five times) or Quarter-finals (two times).
They’ve done well to avoid group stage exits, as they’ve failed to exit their group just twice in this century, but they’ve been unable to turn their ability to get out of the group into any deep runs, which has frustrated them.
Because of that, the pressure will be on them to win this group and make a bit of a run, especially when seeing that they avoided some pot one heavyweights here in Group B, and got a favourable pot three draw - there are a lot of other pot two sides looking at them with jealousy, without a doubt.
DRAW REACTION 🎙️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) December 5, 2025
Presented by @Moneris
The floating UEFA team has yet to be decided, but what does CanMNT 🇨🇦 head coach Jesse Marsch make of the UEFA team we DO know we'll be playing – Switzerland 🇨🇭? pic.twitter.com/NsN5TCIsaT
Switzerland’s path towards this tournament was rather straightforward, as they qualified automatically out of UEFA World Cup qualifying, topping Group B with Kosovo, Slovenia and Sweden after winning four and drawing two of their games, scoring 14 goals and conceding just two.
In particular, Switzerland were excellent at home, beating Kosovo 4-0, Slovenia 3-0 and Sweden 4-1, but they were less spectacular on the road, beating Sweden 2-0 but drawing Slovenia 0-0 and Kosovo 1-1.
Coached by former Swiss international Murat Yakin, Switzerland is a deep and balanced squad, one filled with players in the top five leagues, but they don’t necessarily have the same star power as other pot two teams.
DRAW REACTION 🎙️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) December 5, 2025
Presented by @moneris
Switzerland 🇨🇭 head coach Murat Yakin on playing CanMNT 🇨🇦 in 2026
"In the last World Cup in Qatar, they played very well - Very tough players, very tough team... but without points. That was a little bit unlucky.
"We expect a tough… pic.twitter.com/HSDM0MLyve
At the same time, they’ve still got some top players to watch - goalkeeper Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund), centre back Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan), midfielder Granit Xhaka (Sunderland) and Breel Embolo (Rennes) are all crucial and experienced contributors many will recognize, while players like Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest) and Fabian Rieder (FC Augsburg) are some younger players who have emerged in recent years.
No doubt, though, any deep Swiss run will be fuelled by a strong collective approach, so look for them to build on a good qualifying campaign in this tournament. 
Qatar (FIFA Rank #51, Elo Rank #89)
2nd World Cup
Best finish: Group stage (2022)
After qualifying for their first World Cup as hosts in 2022, Qatar are back in 2026, showing how they were able to build momentum off the back of playing in their first World Cup.
This time, though, after failing to win a game or earn a point at home, the goal is simple for Qatar in this tournament - get a result. From there, they can start to dream of potentially getting out of the group, as they’ll feel fortunate not to end up with any pot one heavyweights.
And, to their credit, now that they’ve qualified for this tournament, their confidence will be high, even if their journey here wasn’t always as straightforward as they’d have hoped.
Alphonso Davies reacts to Canada drawing Qatar into Group B! 🇨🇦🇨🇭🇶🇦
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 5, 2025
Switzerland was previously drawn into the group. #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/0XC8T8FDij
First, they cruised through the second round of AFC World Cup qualifying, which is where their journey began, topping a group with Kuwait, India and Afghanistan to reach the third round, picking up 16 out of a possible 18 points across six games.
Then, in the third round, they hit a bit of a wall - they finished fourth in a group with Iran, Uzbekistan, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea. They weren’t particularly close to automatic qualification, either, as Iran won the group with 23 points, while Uzbekistan were just behind them with 21 points, but Qatar was able to advance to the next round with the UAE after accumulating 13 points.
In the fourth round, though, Qatar made up for their tough third round performance, as they beat the UAE and tied Oman to top their three-team group and earn automatic qualification.
Powered by the decision to hire the experienced Julen Lopetegui earlier in 2025, making him the fifth different head coach they’ve had since the end of the 2022 World Cup, they’ll now hope he can bring new life out of this squad next summer.
DRAW REACTION 🎙️
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) December 5, 2025
Presented by @moneris
Qatar assistant coach Óscar Caro reacts to finding out his team will take on the CanMNT 🇨🇦 in 2026 🇶🇦
"For sure, they will [make] things very difficult for every team they play against." pic.twitter.com/Xyto9624XD
Speaking of their team, they’ll hope to use familiarity and chemistry to their advantage, as all of their players play in Qatar, although attacker Akram Afif (Al-Sadd) is more than capable of winning matches on his own. Along with attacker Hassan Al-Haydos (Al-Sadd) and attacker Almoez Ali (Al-Duhail), those are the big names to watch on this Qatar team.
This team will know that they’ve got long odds of qualifying for the knockout stages, but they’ve surprised before - they’re back-to-back consecutive Asian Cup winners, after all, which can’t hurt. 
UEFA Playoff A (Italy/Northern Ireland/Wales/Bosnia and Herzegovina):
Italy (FIFA Rank #12, Elo Rank #18) - Best World Cup finish: Winners (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006)
Wales (FIFA Rank #32, Elo Rank #40) - Best World Cup finish: Quarter-finals (1958)
Northern Ireland (FIFA Rank #69, Elo Rank #64) - Best World Cup finish: Group Stage (2014)
Bosnia and Herzegovina (FIFA Rank #71, Elo Rank #68) - Best World Cup finish: Quarter-finals (1958)
Heading into this playoff, the stakes are simple - the pressure is on Italy.
It’s simple to say, but the reality is that they’re the clear heavyweight team in this playoff grouping. The numbers back that up - Italy have been to 18 World Cups, winning four of them - the other three teams have been to six World Cups, combined.
Plus, after missing out on the 2018 and 2022 World Cups altogether, the pressure is on Italy to avoid missing a third straight World Cup, which would be a nightmare scenario for a team that played in every World Cup between 1962 and 2014, winning two of their World Cups (1982, 2006) across that span.
Now, though, the question is simple - can Italy get the job done in this playoff? It’s worth noting that things aren’t that straightforward for them here. 
For those unfamiliar with UEFA’s playoff, they’re made up of the 12 teams that finished as group runner-ups in the first round of World Cup qualifying, along with the four next best Nations League group winners who failed to finish top two in their group. From there, those 16 teams were split into four pots, with the first three pots being the 12 teams that finished second, and the fourth pot consisting of the Nations League winners.
Those 16 teams were then split into four different playoff paths, with each of them delivering one team that will qualify for the World Cup.
Among these four teams in Playoff A, Italy was this path’s pot one team, Wales came out of pot two, Bosnia and Herzegovina came out of pot three, and Northern Ireland was the pot four side. Otherwise, Italy was drawn to face Northern Ireland in one semi-final, while Wales was drawn to face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the other, with Italy and Wales hosting those two matches.
Our play-off path is set ⚽️#Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/l4WjhnM7L9
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) November 20, 2025
Where things get interesting, though, is in a potential final, which would be hosted by the winner of Wales vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was pre-determined by the draw. Given that it would be a one-off match, with the winner going to the World Cup, the ability to play such a match in front of one’s fans is a huge advantage.
Now, when looking at these four teams, each has had a different journey to get to this point, quite interestingly.
First, Italy finished second in Group I behind Norway, who cruised to the World Cup after picking up a maximum of 24 points from eight games. To their credit, Italy picked up a solid 18 points, winning six out of eight matches, but they lost both of their games vs. Norway, and that was enough to send them to the playoff.
Meanwhile, Wales finished second in Group J., which was won by Belgium with 18 points. Wales finished just behind Belgium, too, as they accumulated 16 points after winning five, drawing one and losing two of their eight games - in the end, a 4-2 loss at home to Belgium partway through qualification proved to be costly.
Otherwise, Bosnia and Herzegovina finished second in Group H, which was won by Austria with 19 points. Bosnia was just behind them with 17 points, too, as they won five, drew two and lost just one of their eight games, with a 2-1 home loss and 1-1 away draw to Austria sitting as the big reason why they failed to qualify automatically.
Lastly, Northern Ireland finished third in Group A, which was won by Germany with 15 points, as they accumulated just nine points from six games (they were in one of six UEFA groups that were only four teams instead of five, hence the fewer games), finishing well behind Germany and second-place Slovakia (who had 12 points).
Overall, though, that helps give an idea of what Canada should expect from this grouping - for the most part, these are four solid teams, with three of them all coming quite close to automatic qualification in UEFA play, showing that each of them should be decently tough sides to face, even if Italy appears to be the team to avoid at first glance.
