Switzerland entered the tournament as the champions of Group B in the 2026 World Cup European qualifying zone and are ranked the highest, making them the favorites to win their group in the 2026 World Cup finals, which also happens to be Group B.
However, their journey after the 1-1 draw against Qatar isn't getting any easier, but rather more difficult, as they face another team that employs a low-lying defense that may be even more solid than Qatar's. In their second Group B match, Switzerland will face Bosnia at Los Angeles Stadium in the United States.
Until they forced hosts Canada to a 1-1 draw, Sergej Barbarez's Bosnia and Herzegovina had been unbeaten in their last nine matches since a 2-1 defeat by Austria in a European qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup on September 10, 2025.
Bosnia also conceded only one goal in each of those nine matches, except against North Macedonia in a friendly that ended 0-0.
Austria in their second European qualifying match, four-time world champion Italy, and Wales, no less strong than the two European teams, struggled to break through Bosnia's goal.
Wales and Italy then lost on penalties in the European playoffs , forcing Bosnia to advance to the 2026 World Cup finals.
Last week, Canada, one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup, also struggled to break through Bosnia's defense and their goalkeeper, Nikola Vasilj.
But Canada was still less aggressive than Switzerland in pressing its opponents. Canada was also nearly equal to Bosnia in creating chances.
If Bosnia created 3 golden opportunities from a total of 8 opportunities, then Canada created 4 opportunities on target from a total of 13 opportunities.
These figures are far below the statistics made by Switzerland, who had 26 chances, 7 of which were on target.
Ironically, with so many chances, Switzerland could only score one goal from a penalty.
Does this indicate that the Swiss attackers were not sharp, or because Qatar's defense was very strong, or was it just luck?
