Canadian men to face Switzerland, Qatar and possibly Italy at 2026 World Cup

Canada’s draw for next summer’s World Cup started well but finished with a twist of the tail.

The Canadian men, ranked 27th in the world, drew No. 17 Switzerland, the fifth-ranked team in Pot 2, and then No. 51 Qatar, the 10th-ranked side in Pot 3. While the Canadians will have to be at their best to blunt an accomplished Swiss team, it is not mission impossible. And Canada should be able to handle Qatar.

But Pot 4 threw up a yet-to-be determined European team that could be Italy.

The 12th-ranked Italians are taking part in a European playoff in March along with No. 32 Wales, No. 69 Northern Ireland and No. 71 Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Italy-Northern Ireland winner will face the Wales-Bosnia victor to see who plays Canada in its June 12 opener at Toronto’s BMO Field.

Canada beat Wales 1-0 when they met in September and should have the measure of both Northern Ireland and Bosnia and Herzegovina. But Italy is a different animal.

The top teams in each of the 12 groups plus the eight best third-place finishers move on to the knockout round.

Canada coach Jesse Marsch was sanguine about the draw, while acknowledging having a mystery team along with Switzerland and Qatar was not ideal.

“Without knowing who the third opponent is, it can get difficult — specifically if Italy advances,” he said. “But I think we’re excited. I said going into the draw that we weren’t going to fear anyone, but we will respect everyone. And that remains with this group. I think there’s opportunity there but some big challenges.”

“I don’t love that we don’t know all three (opponents) right now but at the same time we’ll make the best out of it,” he added. “It is the World Cup. We’ve got to be ready.”

After Toronto, the Canadians head west to Vancouver, where they will face Qatar on June 18 and then Switzerland on June 24. Both Vancouver games are at B.C. Place Stadium.

Canada beat the Swiss 3-1 in May 2002 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, in their only previous meeting. The Canadians blanked Qatar 2-0 in the lead-up to the 2022 World Cup, in Vienna in September 2022, in their only encounter.

But Switzerland is an experienced side that has made the round of 16 at the last three tournaments. The Swiss are able to field a lineup made up entirely of players from Tier 1 leagues — their starting 11 for their last qualifier against Kosovo featured players entirely from top leagues in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

“I think they have a really balanced team,” Marsch said. “They have good players all over the pitch. A very deep team. Good defenders and very explosive attackers … A very good opponent but one we can match up with.”

Still, Canada could have drawn No. 11 Morocco or No. 13 Colombia out of Pot 2 and No. 29 Norway from Pot 3.

Having a team like Italy in the group would ratchet up Canada’s degree of difficulty, while making Canada’s opening match one heck of a tough ticket in a city filled with families with Italian ties.

Canada has an incentive to win its group. Should the Canadian men top the pool, they would stay in Vancouver for their round-of-32 game and, if they keep winning, for a round-of-16 matchup.

Should Canada finish runner-up in Group B, it would face the second-place team in Group A, which is made up of No. 15 Mexico, No. 22 South Korea, No. 61 South Africa and a European playoff team.

The 14th-ranked-ranked United States, the other co-host, will play out of Group D with No. 26 Australia, No. 39 Paraguay and a European playoff side.

France finds itself in a challenging Group I alongside No. 19 Senegal, Norway and a FIDA playoff team (No. 58 Iraq, No. 76 Bolivia or No. 123 Suriname). And Group L is a tough neighbourhood with No. 4 England, No. 10 Croatia, No. 30 Panama and No. 72 Ghana.

The full tournament schedule is slated for release Saturday. Canada is hosting 13 of the tournament’s 104 games, with seven in Vancouver and six in Toronto.

The road map for the expanded 48-team tournament unfolded at the draw at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., before a star-studded crowd including Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. president Donald Trump and Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum, whose three countries are co-hosting the competition.

In a surprise move, all three leaders took the stage for the draw. But they were only there to draw their teams, which had already been assigned to specific groups.

The Canadian men, in their third trip to the soccer showcase, will be looking for their first-ever win.

There are just two international windows left before the tournament — March 23-31 and June 1-9 — meaning Canada has only a few more outings to get it right.

“We have four matches. We have basically one camp and then our pre-camp for the World Cup. It’s go time baby,” Marsch said enthusiastically.

Canada, ranked 41st in the world at the time, was grouped with No. 2 Belgium, No. 12 Croatia and No. 22 Morocco at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Canadians lost all three matches, outscored 7-2.

The Canadian men went 0-3-0 in their first tournament appearance in 1986 in Mexico, outscored 5-0 in losses to France, Hungary and the Soviet Union.

After the three politicians left the draw stage Friday, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal and Aaron Judge joined former England captain Rio Ferdinand in conducting the actual draw.

“Icons everywhere,” said Ferdinand.

The seven-foot-one O’Neal towered above five-foot-five co-host Kevin Hart.

There was politics as well as sport with FIFA president Gianni Infantino awarding Trump the inaugural “FIFA Peace Prize” for “exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world.” On stage, Trump donned the medal that went with the gold trophy.

“The world is a safer place now,” said Trump.

Trump also referenced his “tremendous working arrangement” with Canada.

Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams, Nicole Scherzinger, Lauryn Hill and the Village People provided the musical entertainment.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2025.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press