2026 World Cup: Switzerland Knocks Canada Out, Though Canada Has Already Qualified. Bosnia and Herzegovina Wins and Holds Out Hope
Group B of the 2026 World Cup concluded with victories for Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina: the Swiss clinched first place by defeating host Canada 2-1 in Vancouver, while the Balkan side defeated Qatar 3-1 in Seattle, confirming their third-place finish (with equal points and head-to-head records, they finished behind the Canadians due to a worse goal differential) and keeping their hopes alive for a spot in the “best third-place finishers” playoff. The Middle Eastern team has been eliminated, though they would have needed a miraculous combination of results anyway.
After a scoreless first half, Switzerland needed less than fifteen minutes in the second half to seal the match and win the group: Vargas’s flash of brilliance in the first minute of the second half and Manzambi’s goal in the 57th minute put the Swiss up 2-0, while Promise David (who shares only a name with Juventus’ Jonathan, his national teammate) pulled one back in the 76th minute, a goal, however, that served only to improve their goal difference.
Bosnia, on the other hand, made things clear against Qatar as early as the first half, taking a 2-0 lead with a goal by Alajbegovic in the 29th minute and an own goal by Abunada in the 34th minute. Al-Haydos pulled one back in the 42nd minute, but in the second half, in the 80th minute, Mahimic put an end to both the match and Qatar’s World Cup campaign, as they remain winless after two World Cup appearances.
Switzerland thus finishes with 7 points and will play in the Round of 16 in Vancouver on July 2 against a third-place team (Group E, F, G, I or J), while Canada finishes in second place with 4 points and a goal difference of +5, enough to stay ahead of Bosnia and Herzegovina: However, the Canadians will not be playing on home ice in the Round of 16, as they will face the second-place team from Group A in Inglewood, near Los Angeles. For the Bosnians, the wait continues: 4 points and a goal differential of -1 may not be enough.
