World Cups usually have their Group of Death — Fifa’s first 48-team tournament has a Group of Minnows.

The governing body will be pleased hosts Canada have a shot at progressing past Group B.

Canada

The co-hosts have never been known as a football nation. Soccer, though, is the biggest sport participated in by youth, about 50%. The Reds play second fiddle to powers the US and Mexico in the Concacaf region. Yet they have been making some ground (as reflected by a Fifa ranking of 30th), including qualifying for their second World Cup since 1986 in 2022 in Qatar with the top place in Concacaf. They battled there, losing all three games, though they had encouraging 1-0 and 2-1 scorelines against Belgium and Morocco; less so with a 4-1 defeat to Croatia.

Importantly, they have the core of the 2022 squad intact, including veterans Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Derek Cornelius. Young talent added includes Anderlecht midfielder Nathan Saliba and Union Saint-Gilloise striker Promise David. American coach Jesse March, appointed in 2024 after 2022 World Cup coach John Herdman left, citing burnout and lack of support, will hope the experience gained in Qatar helps Canada get out of a not-so-tough group at home.

Fifa ranking: 30thBest World Cup finishes: Group stage 2 (1986 and 2022)Bosnia and Herzegovina

They may have reached the World Cup via Uefa’s playoffs last month, but given they eliminated Italy there, Bosnia and Herzegovina are no slouches, though they lack experience, as this is their second appearance at the global showpiece. In 2014 they finished third and exited from Group F behind Argentina and Nigeria. As with Italy (who they drew 1-1 with in normal time), they needed penalties to get past Wales in the playoff semifinal. One of the minnows from the former Yugoslavian nations, they battle for major star quality.

At 40, former Manchester City, Roma and Inter Milan star Edin Džeko (now with Schalke 04 in Bundeliga 2) remains the focal point of the attack and team. But VfB Stuttgart striker Ermedin Demirović, Atalanta defender Sead Kolašinac, Benfica fullback Amar Dedić and Brøndby midfielder Benjamin Tahirović give coach Sergej Barbarez — a former Bosnia captain whose appointment in April 2024 reaped rewards with the World Cup qualification — quality to work with in a rugged combination.

Fifa ranking: 65thBest World Cup finishes: Group stage 1 (2014)Qatar

Qatar battled as World Cup hosts in 2022. They lost all three games fairly convincingly — 2-0 against Ecuador, 3-1 against Senegal and 2-0 against the Netherlands under Spanish coach Félix Sánchez Bas. Their steps to improve in 2026 have included hiring a far more experienced Spaniard in Julen Lopetegui — the former Spain senior coach who won the 2019-2020 Europa League with Sevilla and steered Wolverhampton Wanderers from bottom place to mid-table in the EPL in 2022-2023 — to reconstruct the national team. He has held training camps, and the country has continued to resource and draw from its world-class Aspire Academy and provide a better professional environment for players by attempting to strengthen the Qatar Stars League.

Star players include defenders Boualem Khoukhi and Pedro Miguel and forwards Akram Afif and captain Hassan Al-Haydos (all from Al Sadd) and all-time leading scorer Almoez Ali of Al-Duhail.

Fifa ranking: 55thBest World Cup finishes: Group stage 1 (hosts) 2022Switzerland

Switzerland are experienced World Cup campaigners who punch above their weight for such a small European nation. They were World Cup quarterfinalists three times in the early editions of the tournament from 1934 to 1954 and spent 20 years not qualifying between 1970 and 1990 before some decent performances since, reaching the last 16 five times in six appearances out of eight since 1994. They topped Uefa’s Group B in qualifying to reach North America with 14 points to Kosovo’s 11. Murat Yakin — the 49-cap Switzerland centre-back who, as a coach, won the Swiss Super League with Basel in 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 — has been in charge of the national team since 2021. He has had some success, steering them to the 2022 World Cup last 16, though they lost 6-1 there against Portugal. They beat defending champions Italy 2-0 in the last 16 of Euro 2024, losing on penalties to England in the quarterfinals.

With star players including hugely experienced former Arsenal, now Sunderland, defensive midfielder Granit Xhaka; Inter Milan defender Manuel Akanji; Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel; and forwards Breel Embolo (Rennes) and Dan Ndoye (Nottingham Forest), Switzerland should get past the group and could make ground in the knockouts.

Fifa ranking: 19thBest World Cup finishes: Quarterfinals 3 (1934, 1938, 1954); Last 16 5 (1994, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022)TimesLIVE, Sowetan, The Herald and Daily Dispatch will profile a 2026 WORLD CUP GROUP every Tuesday until the tournament’s June 11 kickoff. Also catch the STAR PLAYER profile every Friday.