Canada has finally learned their opponents at the group stage of next year’s World Cup.
The draw took over two hours on Friday at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, DC. It took an hour and a half for the actual draw to get started. What proceeded was live music performances, a “peace award” given to US President Donald Trump and a ton of cringe.
The whole World Cup draw could’ve been an email. It was painful to watch and was more cringe than some SNL sketches.
But that aside, the teams finally got to learn who their opponents were. That includes Canada, which is in Group B.
Let’s take a look at Canada’s opponents and see how they stack up.
Opponent #1: Play-off winner between Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina
One of these teams will be Canada’s first opponent at the World Cup, with the match scheduled for June 12 at BMO Field in Toronto.
The play-offs for these four European nations will take place on March 26 and 31st. Italy will host Northern Ireland, and Wales will host Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 26. The final on March 31 will take place between the winners of these games, and the winner will qualify for the World Cup.
Italy: The favourite to make it out of the play-offs, but has issues
Now the clear favourite out of these four is Italy. However, the Azzuri have not been in the best of form. In their World Cup qualifying group, they finished second with a 6-0-2 record. The two losses were against Norway. The Italians lost to the Norwegians 3-0 in the third game and 4-1 in the final game, pushing them into the play-off round.
Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2018 and 2022. Missing out on the World Cup for the third time would be a massive disaster, though that is an understatement. The Italians did win Euro 2020, but were infamously knocked out in Euro 2024 in the Round of 16 against Switzerland. After the 3-0 loss to Norway in June, head coach Luciano Spalletti was fired and replaced with Gennaro Gattuso. Gattuso was part of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad as a defensive midfielder.
Spalletti had Italy play a more possession-based and attacking style of soccer, which contrasted the more structured style that previous managers implemented. However, it wasn’t working. Gattuso was brought in and also emphasised the attacking style of soccer, but with more high pressing and intensity. However, under Gattuso, Italy have been leaky at the back, and he emphasised that it is something they need to fix and has even considered switching from four at the back to three.
Italy are currently ranked 12th in the FIFA rankings. Their goalkeeper, Gianluigi Donnarumma, is one of the world’s best. Alessandro Bastoni is also one of the world’s best centre-backs, but has struggled under Gattuso’s 4-4-2 formation. (He does work better in a back three, so that probably explains why Gattuso is considering the formation switch.) Nicolas Barella and Manuel Locatelli lead the midfield as a formidable duo, but have struggled at times in the World Cup qualifiers.
The attack includes the likes of Mateo Retugui, Giacomo Raspadori and also Moise Kean and Daniel Maldini. As mentioned, Italy can score, but their attack is also inconsistent.
It seems Italy have a lot to figure out ahead of the play-offs. Can they score consistently, and can their defence improve? Should Italy go through, Jesse Marsch and Canada will have quite the task in their first World Cup game. If that happens, Toronto will also be a gong show, especially in Woodbridge.
Northern Ireland: The defensive dark horse
Northern Ireland is ranked 69th in the FIFA rankings and went 3-0-3 in World Cup qualifying. One notable player is Liverpool right-back Connor Bradley, who is their captain. Northern Ireland has not qualified for the World Cup since 1986.
One thing to know about the Northern Irish is that they are very disciplined defensively. They only gave up six goals in six games in World Cup qualifying and just eight in six UEFA Nations League games. Head coach Michael O’Neill has them playing a 3-5-2 or a 5-3-2. The Northern Irish often sit in a mid-block defensively and rely on counter-attacks, through balls and set pieces. Their mid-block often frustrates opponents by cutting down passing lanes.
If Northern Ireland is Canada’s first opponent, they need to figure out how to break down their stingy defence. Canada has struggled in the attack this year, most notably against teams that play mid and low blocks, such as Australia, Curacao and Colombia. The likes of Jonathan David, Promise David and Tani Oluwaseyi would have to go the extra mile to break down Northern Ireland.
Wales: Looking to reach the World Cup for the second straight time
Canada has met Wales recently. They met in September on a wet night in Swansea. Derek Cornelius’ free kick was enough to give the Canadians a 1-0 win.
The Welsh are looking to qualify for the World Cup for the second straight time. They qualified for 2022 after a 64-year wait.
Wales finished with a 5-1-2 record in Group J of their World Cup qualifying group. That included a 7-1 win over North Macedonia on the final matchday and a 3-0 win over Liechtenstein on matchday 3. The Welsh even played a thriller against Belgium on Matchday Four as they lost 4-3.
Players to watch on Wales include Tottenham Hotspur winger Brennan Johnson and his teammate, right-back Ben Davies. There are also forwards Harry Wilson of Fulham and Daniel James of Leeds United, and long-time midfielder and captain Aaron Ramsey, who is currently with Pumas UNAM in Liga MX.
Canada is already familiar with Wales manager Craig Bellamy’s tactics. The Welsh play an intense style of soccer that has quick transitions, lots of pressing and building out from the back. The central midfielders stretch the opponents, and the full-backs move wide into the final or middle third to exploit space.
Wales is ranked 32nd in the world, five spots behind Canada. If Wales is Canada’s first opponent, it will be a battle of two teams that like to press heavily. This could be another tight game, and Canada’s difference makers will need to prove themselves on the big stage.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Looking to get back to the World Cup with discipline
Finally, there is Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are currently ranked 71st in the FIFA rankings and are looking to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014. The Bosnians finished second in their World Cup group with a 5-2-1 record, just two points behind group winners Austria. (They drew 1-1 to Austria on the final qualifying matchday)
Bosnia head coach Sergej Barbarez emphasises unity, discipline and intensity in his players. He usually uses a 4-2-3-1 formation but is tactically flexible and has also used a 5-3-2 formation.
Bosnia and Herzegovina are led by striker Eden Dzeko. At 39 years old, the striker of Fiorentina continues to lead the line, and he has scored 72 goals in 146 appearances with Bosnia. But they have some younger players in their squad, including right-back Jusuf Gazibegović (25), midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević (20) and forward Samed Baždar. (21)
If Bosnia is Canada’s first World Cup opponent, expect a team that is defensively disciplined and will look to give the ball to Dzeko. However, the Bosnians have been inconsistent in World Cup qualifying, and if Canada faces them, getting on the front foot early would be key so they can rattle Barbarez and his squad.
Opponent #2: Qatar
After hosting the World Cup in 2022, Qatar qualified for the big dance again.
Canada and Qatar met in a friendly in September 2022, leading up to the World Cup. Cyle Larin and Jonathan David scored to help Canada win 2-0.
The two teams are set to play on June 18 at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium.
Qatar topped Group A of the AFC World Cup qualifiers, which culminated in a 2-1 win over the UAE. In 2023, they also won the AFC Asia Cup. Currently, Qatar are participating in the Arab Cup. So far, in the group stage, they lost 1-0 to Palestine on Monday and drew 1-1 with Syria on Wednesday.
In 2022, the Qataris lost all three of their games and scored just one goal. They were the first ever World Cup hosts to be eliminated after two games.
All of Qatar’s players play in the Qatar Stars League. However, their manager is a Spaniard, Julen Lopetegui. He coached Spain from 2016 to 2018 and also managed clubs such as Real Madrid, Sevilla, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United.
Lopetugui switches between 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1 formations and emphasises hard work off the ball. One name to watch on Qatar is Almoez Ali, who led the Asian qualifiers with 12 goals.
No team should be underestimated, and lots can change between now and June. But Canada just seems much better in pretty much any area of the pitch. When these two teams meet in the World Cup group stage, the expectation should be Canada winning by at least two or three.
Opponent #3: Switzerland
The Swiss are a team that cannot be taken lightly. They are a team that upsets bigger teams or makes it harder for them.
For instance, in Euro 2024, they drew Germany, beat Italy and drew 1-1 with England before losing on penalties. 2026 will be their sixth straight World Cup, and they qualified for the Round of 16 in five of them.
The Swiss are currently ranked 17th in the FIFA rankings and topped their World Cup qualifying group with a 4-2-0 record. That included big wins over Sweden and Kosovo.
The Swiss are led by their captain, Granit Xhaka. The midfielder made the move from Bayer Leverkusen to the newly promoted Premier League side Sunderland and has done well there so far. Xhaka is known for his passing and leadership. Switzerland’s goalkeeper Gregor Kobel is currently tied for the Bundesliga lead in clean sheets with six. Kobel turns 28 on Saturday, and he is a quintessential “Sweeper Keeper”, meaning he is very good at coming out of the box, handling the ball at his feet and distributing, as well as excellent shot-stopping.
The big name on the backline is Manuel Akanji, who is on loan at Inter Milan from Manchester City. The 30-year-old is a ball-playing defender. In attack, the Swiss are led by Rennes striker Breel Embolo, Nottingham Forest winger Dan Ndoye and Sevilla winger Ruben Vargas. Embolo brings physicality, while Ndoye and Vargas are quick and technical wingers.
Switzerland are a tactically flexible team. Head coach Murat Yakin usually starts with a 3-4-2-1 or 3-4-3, but depending on the situation, can change to a 4-3-3 or a 3-2-5. The Swiss rely a lot on transitions and counterpressing, and the midfielders and defenders like to use man marking. In terms of the buildup, Kobel starts it, and they create overloads by having Embolo drop deep and the wing-backs/full-backs (Ricardo Rodriguez and Silvan Widmer) invert. Due to the flexibility, formation changes and overloads, opponents end up being confused and leaving half spaces for the Swiss. Switzerland are a team known for exploiting weaknesses.
Canada’s last group stage game is against Switzerland on June 24 at BC Place. Both these teams rely a lot on pressing and counters. However, if Canada isn’t careful, the Swiss could find the spaces to run in behind or on the flanks. Canada can hope to beat Switzerland by keeping them in their own half and finding spaces of their own. When these two teams face each other, it could be a tight game. One team will try to frustrate the other.
Can Canada go through to the knockouts?
Overall, this is a decent group for Canada. However, a lot depends on who the European play-off winner is.
If Italy are the ones that go through, Canada could be in for a tough road. As mentioned, Italy have their issues, but they are still one of the European giants. But they face a ton of pressure to win the playoff round.
Wales could give Canada a battle, but the Canadians seem to have the talent to get by Bosnia or Northern Ireland.
Switzerland is going to be a tough task because they are hard to predict, and on paper, Canada should get by Qatar. There is a path to getting out of the group or even winning the group, but it will be tough.
Getting four to six points would be enough to get out of the group. Canada has the tactics and players to go through, but there is still a lot to be determined and worked on.
