Difficult draw in World Cup qualifiers Switzerland face Sweden, Slovenia and Kosovo in Group B

Switzerland know their opponents on the road to the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico. Coach Murat Yakin's team will face Sweden, Slovenia and Kosovo in the qualifiers.

Keystone-SDA

13.12.2024, 11:30

13.12.2024, 13:29

SDA

It is no easy task that awaits Switzerland in the qualifiers. According to the world rankings, Sweden and Slovenia are the second strongest national teams in their respective pots, Kosovo the fourth best.

The Swedes, probably Switzerland's toughest rivals to win the group, have been in a slump recently and have missed the last two major tournaments. However, they showed signs of improvement in the Nations League in the fall. Thanks in part to top scorer Viktor Gyökeres, they picked up five wins and a draw and were promoted to League B. The Swiss do not have fond memories of their last clash with Sweden: They lost the 2018 World Cup round of 16 in Russia 0:1.

Unlike Sweden, Slovenia, who were drawn in pot 3, took part in the European Championship in Germany. There, the team with Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak and Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko drew three times in the group with Denmark, Serbia and England, but lost on penalties to Portugal in the round of 16.

Six games from September

Switzerland already faced Kosovo in qualifying for Euro 2024, where they had a surprisingly difficult time and had to settle for two draws. Coach Franco Foda's team includes several players with Swiss roots. Among them is Lugano goalkeeper Amir Saipi, who recently decided to switch nations.

As Switzerland have been drawn into a group of four, the six matches will be played in September, October and November. Test matches will therefore take place in March and June. This will give coach Yakin the chance to find the best possible team for the qualifiers in the fall. The exact match dates are still open.

The twelve group winners in Europe will qualify directly for the tournament in North America, in which a total of 48 teams will take part for the first time. The group runners-up will compete in a play-off with four other teams from the Nations League for the remaining four World Cup places. Qualification begins in March 2025 and ends a year later with the play-offs.

The draw in the ticker

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The draw is over

All the lots have been drawn and all the groups are known.

Pot 4 follows - Kosovo completes Swiss group

Kosovo is drawn in Group B with Switzerland. All the opponents for Murat Yakin's team are now known.

Slovenia are drawn from pot 3 in the Swiss group - hammer draw for Albania

Switzerland's second opponent is also known: Slovenia will be drawn from pot 3 in Switzerland's Group B. Also known: Austria, Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina will meet in Group G. Albania have a tough draw, challenging England and Serbia in Group K.

Lottery pot 2 is up next - Switzerland face Sweden

The first opponent is known, well known in fact: Switzerland will face Sweden in Group B. Also known: Belgium and Wales meet in Group J, while England and Serbia face off in Group K.

Here we go - Switzerland ends up in Group B

The draw gets underway, with the teams from pot 1 being drawn first. And Switzerland is the second nation to be drawn - and ends up in Group B and thus in a group of four. This also means that Switzerland will not start qualifying until next fall.

The FIFA legends and today's lucky fairies take to the stage

Slowly but surely, everything is ready. Five legends of the sport are in action today as fairies of fortune: France icon Robert Pirès, Ariane Hingst from Germany, Fernando Llorente from Spain, Gianluca Zambrotta, who won the 2006 World Cup with Italy, and Rachel Yankey from England.

Infantino welcomes the football world

The FIFA President takes the floor and welcomes the football world to Zurich.

Everything is ready in Zurich - the tension is rising

The draw for the qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup will begin in a few minutes.

Group of five more likely for Switzerland

The teams will be divided into six groups of five and six groups of four. The groups of four will be played on just three double dates in the fall. In Pot 1, four places in groups of four are reserved for the four winners of the Nations League final round. So while they will not know which group they will play in until March, only two groups of four remain free for the rest.

This means that Switzerland, who are relegated from League A and no longer have a place in the Nations League, have a slightly better chance of being drawn into a group of five. These will be played from March onwards, although there is a chance that Switzerland will not be involved until June. FIFA has announced that it will publish the match schedule for the World Cup qualifiers on Friday evening.

The nations in pots 3, 4 and 5

Pot 3: Scotland, Slovenia, Ireland, Albania, North Macedonia, Georgia, Finland, Iceland, Northern Ireland, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel

Lottery pot 4: Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Kosovo, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Latvia, Lithuania

Lottery pot 5: Republic of Moldova, Malta, Andorra, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino

Pot 2: Haaland, Gyökeres or Serbia again?

Pot 2, where probably Switzerland's biggest rival for a place at the World Cup awaits, contains teams that have impressively demonstrated their potential recently. For example, Norway with superstar Erling Haaland, who left Austria behind in the Nations League and were promoted to League A. Sweden, who have missed the last two major tournaments, are also showing signs of improvement and have an extremely prolific attacker in their ranks in Viktor Gyökeres.

However, there could also be unpleasant reunions with Serbia or Romania. The Serbs are partly responsible for the SFA team's relegation from the Nations League, while the Romanians were surprisingly ranked ahead of Switzerland in the last European Championship qualifiers. Switzerland drew against both teams at home and lost away.

The nations in pot 2: Ukraine, Sweden, Turkey, Wales, Hungary, Serbia, Poland, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Norway

Switzerland is in pot 1

As a team in pot 1, the chances of a favorable draw are good. The really big nations such as Spain, England and Germany are avoided.

Also in pot 1 alongside Switzerland : Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Denmark, Croatia, England, Belgium, Austria

How the World Cup qualifiers work

48 instead of the previous 32 national teams will compete in the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the USA and Mexico. The 16 teams will be determined in the European qualifiers. The teams will be divided into twelve groups, with the winners qualifying directly for the finals. The twelve runners-up in the groups will compete in a play-off for the four remaining places with four other teams, which will be determined on the basis of the results in the Nations League.

The Swiss want to avoid this detour at all costs in their quest to reach their sixth consecutive World Cup finals. As a team in Pot 1, their chances are good; they will avoid the really big nations such as Spain, England and Germany. Nevertheless, coach Murat Yakin's team face a few stumbling blocks. Who will the national team face?

Hello ...

... and welcome to the live ticker for the draw for the World Cup qualifying groups. From 12 noon, the national team will find out which nations they will be competing against for a ticket to the 2026 World Cup finals. Follow along live here.

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