Switzerland wraps up first place in
Group B at the World Cup with a 2-1 victory over Canada
[June 25, 2026]
By ANNE M. PETERSON
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Switzerland put a damper on
Canada's World Cup party.
The Swiss got goals from Rubén Vargas and Johan Manzambi to beat
Canada 2-1 on Wednesday and win Group B. Switzerland will get a week
of rest before returning to Vancouver to face one of the eight best
third-place finishers on July 2.
“I think that we deserve to be where we are right now,” Switzerland
coach Murat Yakin said. “In three days from now, we will know the
opponent of the next match, and now we have the possibility to watch
this tournament, and to watch the matches, and we will take what we
will get.”
Canada dropped to second place in the group and will play in the
knockout round for the first time in team history. But the Canadians
had been hoping for a win or a draw on Wednesday so they would play
their round-of-32 match on home soil.
Instead, Canada will travel Inglewood, California, to play Sunday
against South Africa, which beat South Korea 1-0 Wednesday night in
Monterrey, Mexico, to finish second in Group A.
“We wanted to be here in Vancouver, but we still have a massive
opportunity ahead of us to find a way to still electrify the nation,
even though it’ll be from Los Angeles,” Canada coach Jesse Marsch
said.
After Manzambi came off the bench and scored two goals in
Switzerland’s 4-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Thursday, he
earned a spot in the starting lineup against Canada. The 20-year-old
midfielder became the youngest player to score two goals off the
bench in the World Cup and is among the breakout young stars of the
tournament.
Vargas broke through for Switzerland about 40 seconds into the
second half with a strike that sailed past sliding Canada goalkeeper
Maxime Crépeau, hit the post and went into the net.
Breel Embolo then crossed the ball to Manzambi, whose shot went
through the hands of Crépeau to put the Swiss up 2-0 in the 57th
minute. The goal quieted the red-clad sellout crowd, which included
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and CONCACAF President Victor
Montagliani.
Canada pulled a goal back in the 76th. Promise David scored with a
volley on his first touch of the game about a minute after he came
on as a substitute. But despite a flurry of chances, the Canadians
couldn't find the second goal to keep them at home.
Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka had a chance in the scoreless first
half but his free kick in the 37th minute and sailed over the net as
he let out a yell.
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Switzerland's Ruben Vargas (17) is mobbed by teammates after scoring
their first goal during the World Cup Group B soccer match between
Switzerland and Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday,
June 24, 2026. (Ethan Cairns/The Canadian Press via AP)
Ali Ahmed had one of Canada’s best attempts of the
first half in the 42nd minute, but his shot to the near post was
smothered by Switzerland goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
On Thursday, Canada won its first World Cup match, 6-0 over Qatar,
and put itself in position to advance. But the historic victory was
bittersweet because Ismaël Koné was stretchered off with a broken
left leg. Koné was at Wednesday’s game on crutches.
The Swiss opened the World Cup with a lackluster 1-1 draw against
Qatar before they routed Bosnia with a flurry of late goals.
Considered the favorite in Group B, Switzerland has played at the
last five World Cups and advanced to the round of 16 in the past
three.
“We needed some time to get really into this tournament, for many
nations that was the case,” Yakin said. “There were big teams who
won against small countries, so we really needed to get into this
tournament fast, and the way we play football now, I’m very happy
with that.”
Canada, making its third World Cup appearance, opened the tournament
with a 2-2 draw against Bosnia.
“We have to give our team a lot of credit. We’ve had a lot of
injuries, we’ve had a lot of adversity, we’ve had a lot of injuries,
we’ve had to manage a lot of different situations,” Marsch said. “We
still got a really good point in the first game, we had a fantastic
performance against Qatar and on another day, even though we go down
2-0, maybe we get a goal and maybe we win the group. It was just a
matter of fine margins.”
Bosnia beat Qatar 3-1 in the other Group B match Wednesday and could
still advance as a third-place team. Qatar was eliminated.
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