We look ahead to Saturday’s match in Group B of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with our Qatar v Switzerland preview. After both nations topped their respective qualifying groups, can either get off to the perfect start with a vital three points?
Qatar vs Switzerland: The Key Insights
The Opta supercomputer sees Switzerland as heavy favourites to kick off their World Cup campaign with a victory, winning 76.0% of the pre-match simulations compared to Qatar’s mere 9.1%. This is only Qatar’s second appearance at the FIFA World Cup, although it’s the first time they’ve ever qualified for the tournament after hosting in 2022. Switzerland are one of only two European teams to have reached the knockout stages in each of the last six major international tournaments (World Cup/Euros), alongside France.Sharing Group B with Bosnia-Herzegovina and hosts Canada at the 2026 World Cup, Qatar and Switzerland will begin their campaigns with a clash at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Playing in their first World Cup as qualifiers, having hosted the previous edition, Qatar will hope for a change of fortunes this time around, after finishing rock-bottom of their group four years ago.
Qatar lost all three of their matches, conceding seven goals and scoring just one in 2022, but Julen Lopetegui’s side made short work of their final qualifying group for the 2026 tournament, beating the United Arab Emirates to top spot.
Across two previous qualification rounds and 16 matches in total, Qatar were spearheaded by Al-Duhail striker Breel Embolo.
A sensation in recent tournaments, Embolo is one of just five players to have scored multiple goals at both the 2022 World Cup and UEFA Euro 2024, alongside Harry Kane, Kai Havertz, Niclas Füllkrug and Cody Gakpo.
The Swiss are unbeaten in their last six World Cup openers, since losing 5–0 to West Germany back in 1966. They’ll be confident of making that seven in a row against a Qatar side ranked 56th in the current FIFA World Rankings, 37 places below themselves (19th).
Despite qualifying for a 13th tournament and 2026 being their sixth in a row, Switzerland have only topped their group at one World Cup previously – in 2006, when they didn’t concede a single goal across their four matches.
Switzerland’s imperious 2025 form has been followed up by a stuttering start to 2026, however, with a 4–3 defeat to Germany in March, draws with Norway and Australia, either side of a 4–1 victory over Jordan last month.
Christian Fassnacht providing Yakin with plenty of attacking options.
Qatar vs Switzerland Head-to-Head
These two nations have only faced off once before in their respective histories, with that meeting coming in a November 2018 friendly as Qatar edged the hosts 1–0 at Stadio di Cornaredo in Lugano, Switzerland.
Akram Afif’s strike proved to be the difference in the 86th minute, and the now 29-year-old forward is one of nine players from that victorious Qatar team to be named in Lopetegui’s 2026 World Cup squad.
Switzerland, meanwhile, have seven survivors from that 2018 defeat in their 26-player squad for this year’s tournament, including skipper
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