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Switzerland opened their tournament frustratingly, with a 1–1 draw against Qatar on June 13. A 17th-minute penalty from Breel Embolo gave them an early cushion, a devastating 93rd-minute own goal by substitute defender Miro Muheim stripped away a crucial opening win.
Because both opening matches in Group B ended in a 1–1 tie, the group remains completely level and thus wide open.
Leaders Granit Xhaka and Manuel Akanji have spoken about accountability and immediate tactical adjustment. Under Murat Yakin, the emphasis in camp has been on defensive concentration in the final phase. The squad knows that securing three points tonight at Los Angeles Stadium is vital before facing a tough Canada side in their final group fixture.
Switzerland will be looking to make it past the round of 16 for the first time this century in Canada, Mexico and the United States, and they can call upon some stars of European football to try and do so.
Granit Xhaka, Switzerland's record appearance-maker, is continuing his revival at Sunderland, and while they've slipped off slightly from their early high, they are not completely out of the European picture – his experience will be vital to the Rossocrociati's fortunes this summer.
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That will be all the more important given former mainstay Xherdan Shaqiri retired from the international game after Euro 2024.
However, boss Murat Yakin can still call on some top European players, with Inter Milan's Manuel Akanji, Borussia Dortmund's Gregor Kobel, Nottingham Forest's Dan Ndoye and Leeds United's Noah Okafor just some of the names in this most recent squad.
The Mood
Coming off probably their best-ever performance at a major tournament, hopes are high for the Schwiizer Nati. Tempering that is your quadrennial reminder that Switzerland haven’t won a World Cup knockout round fixture since the Second World War.
Yet the Swiss could be poised for a long-awaited breakthrough at their sixth straight World Cup. At Euro 2024, they smothered Italy and took England to penalties in the quarter-finals, then they went through all of 2025 unbeaten. A new generation of talent, led by Johan Manzambi and Dan Ndoye, has arrived to supplement a strong group of old hands.
Squad
Switzerland World Cup 2026 squad
- GK: Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund)
- GK: Yvon Mvogo (Lorient)
- GK: Marvin Keller (Young Boys)
- DF: Miro Muheim (Hamburger SV)
- DF: Silvan Widmer (Mainz 05)
- DF: Nico Elvedi (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
- DF: Manuel Akanji (Inter Milan)
- DF: Ricardo Rodriguez (Real Betis)
- DF: Eray Cömert (Valencia)
- DF: Aurèle Amenda (Eintracht Frankfurt)
- DF: Luca Jaquez (VfB Stuttgart)
- MF: Denis Zakaria (Monaco)
- MF: Remo Freuler (Bologna)
- MF: Johan Manzambi (SC Freiburg)
- MF: Granit Xhaka (Sunderland)
- MF: Ardon Jashari (Milan)
- MF: Djibril Sow (Sevilla)
- MF: Michel Aebischer (Pisa)
- MF: Fabian Rieder (FC Augsburg)
- FW: Breel Embolo (Rennes)
- FW: Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest)
- FW: Christian Fassnacht (Young Boys)
- FW: Rubén Vargas (Sevilla)
- FW: Noah Okafor (Leeds United)
- FW: Zeki Amdouni (Burnley)
- FW: Cedric Itten (Fortuna Düsseldorf)
Fixtures and results
Fixtures
- June 24, 2026: Switzerland vs Canada, BC Place, Vancouver, Canada
- September 26, 2026: North Macedonia vs Switzerland, Tose Proeski Arena, Skopje, North Macedonia
- September 29, 2026: Scotland vs Switzerland, Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland
- October 3, 2026: Switzerland vs Slovenia, Switzerland
- October 6, 2026: Switzerland vs North Macedonia, Switzerland
- November 13, 2026: Slovenia vs Switzerland, Stozice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- November 16, 2026: Switzerland vs Scotland, Switzerland
Recent results
- June 13, 2026: Qatar 1-1 Switzerland, Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California, United States
- May 31, 2026: Switzerland 4-1 Jordan, kybunpark, St. Gallen, Switzerland
- March 31, 2026: Norway 0-0 Switzerland, Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway
- March 27, 2026: Switzerland 3-4 Germany, St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland
- November 18, 2025: Kosovo 1-1 Switzerland, Fadil Vokrri Stadium, Pristina, Kosovo
- November 15, 2025: Switzerland 4–1 Sweden, Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland
- October 13, 2025: Slovenia 0–0 Switzerland, Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- October 10, 2025: Sweden 0–2 Switzerland, Friends Arena, Solna, Sweden
- September 8, 2025: Switzerland 3–0 Slovenia, St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland
- September 5, 2025: Switzerland 4–0 Kosovo, St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland
- June 10, 2025: United States 0–4 Switzerland, Geodis Park, Nashville, United States
Strengths
The midfield unit is strong. After a brilliant run at Bayer Leverkusen, Granit Xhaka captained newly-promoted Sunderland to a comfortable mid-table berth in the Premier League. Wearing the armband for Switzerland, the 33-year-old anchors a group with Remo Freuler and Fabian Rieder that is adept at winning and distributing the ball.
Weaknesses
A lacklustre 0-0 draw in Ljubljana illustrated the pitfalls of a sometimes overcautious style. When that system breaks down, it can do so in spectacular fashion – remember their 6-1 defeat to Portugal in Qatar? It’s perhaps worth noting, too, that the average age of their predicted XI is a sprightly 30.
Manager
Who is Switzerland's manager?
Murat Yakin will lead Switzerland to a second World Cup, after taking them to Qatar in 2022. There, they suffered a battering in the round of 16 against Portugal.
Their Euro 2024 campaign was far more successful, as they finished second in their group, which contained hosts Germany. They brushed aside the holders Italy in the first knockout round to set up a tie with England, which they took the lead in. A penalty shootout decided their fate and they were knocked out.
Yakin will be hoping to lean on some of his playing experience. During his time at Basel, he won the Swiss Super League five times, and was capped 49 times for his country.
Switzerland's Star Player
Who is Switzerland's star player?
One of the stories of this Premier League season has been Granit Xhaka's return, and subsequent revival at Sunderland.
The veteran midfielder left Arsenal two years ago, and in his first season was a key part of Xabi Alonso's domestic invincible Bayer Leverkusen side, who won the league and cup double.
He is currently recognised in FourFourTwo's list of the best central midfielders in the world following his form in the last two years.
Best XI
4-3-3
GK Kobel, RB Widmer, CB Elvedi, CB Akanji, LB Rodriguez, DM Xhaka, CM Freuler, CM Rieder, RW Ndoye, CF Embolo, LW Vargas
