The final round of games of the 2026 World Cup group stage take place between Wednesday and Sunday. We’ve taken a look at the Group B permutations.
We’ve broken down each group, with this article focusing on Group B. Canada and Switzerland can still top the group, while Bosnia-Herzegovina and Qatar can both still qualify for the Round of 32.
Below are all the permutations for those groups as well as who each team could face in the next round. It’s a little complicated but we’ve tried to make it as easy we can!
How could Group B finish?
| Result A | Result B | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Canada win | Bosnia-Herzegovina win | 1. Canada (7 points) 2. Switzerland (4 points) 3. Bosnia-Herzegovina (4 points) 4. Qatar (1 point) |
| Canada win | Bosnia-Herzegovina/Qatar draw | 1. Canada (7 points) 2. Switzerland (4 points) 3. Bosnia-Herzegovina (2 points) 4. Qatar (2 points) |
| Canada win | Qatar win | 1. Canada (7 points) 2. Switzerland (4 points) 3. Qatar (4 points) 4. Bosnia-Herzegovina (1 point) |
| Canada/Switzerland draw | Bosnia-Herzegovina win | 1. Canada (5 points) 2. Switzerland (5 points) 3. Bosnia-Herzegovina (4 points) 4. Qatar (1 point) |
| Canada/Switzerland draw | Bosnia-Herzegovina/Qatar draw | 1. Canada (5 points) 2. Switzerland (5 points) 3. Bosnia-Herzegovina (2 points) 4. Qatar (2 points) |
| Canada/Switzerland draw | Qatar win | 1. Canada (5 points) 2. Switzerland (5 points) 3. Qatar (4 points) 4. Bosnia-Herzegovina (1 point) |
| Switzerland win | Bosnia-Herzegovina win | 1. Switzerland (7 points) 2. Canada (4 points) 3. Bosnia-Herzegovina (4 points) 4. Qatar (1 point) |
| Switzerland win | Bosnia-Herzegovina/Qatar draw | 1. Switzerland (7 points) 2. Canada (4 points) 3. Bosnia-Herzegovina (2 points) 4. Qatar (2 points) |
| Switzerland win | Qatar win | 1. Switzerland (7 points) 2. Canada (4 points) 3. Qatar (4 points) 4. Bosnia-Herzegovina (1 point) |
Canada or Switzerland are the only nations that can win Group B. Canada know they will secure top spot if they win or draw against the Swiss, while it has to be a win for Switzerland for them to finish in first position.
Both of those nations can rest assured that they will be playing knockout football, regardless of the result when they meet. Neither Canada or Switzerland can fall out of the top two.
Bosnia-Herzegovina look pretty likely to secure third place, with the European nation finishing third in six of the nine possibilities. A loss to Qatar would see them finish bottom of the group with just one point.
Qatar know they have to win against Bosnia-Herzegovina to stand any chance of playing knockout football. Anything less and they will finish bottom of their group for the second tournament in succession.
Who could the teams from Group B face in the next round?
Whoever finishes in first position, that’s one of Canada or Switzerland, will take on one of the nations that finishes third in Group E, F, G, I or J. At the moment that’s projected to be Belgium.
The second place finisher in Group B will take on the side that finishes second in Group A. As things stand South Korea are that side but it could be South Africa or Czech Republic.
The current projections show that the side that finishes third in Group B won’t have done enough to make it through to the Round of 32.
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