SDA
13.12.2024 – 04:30
The Swiss national team will find out on Friday which teams will stand in their way on the way to the 2026 World Cup. The qualifying groups will be drawn in Zurich.
13.12.2024, 04:30
SDA
48 instead of the previous 32 national teams will contest 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 number of stumbling blocks.
In pot 2, where probably Switzerland's biggest rivals for a place at the World Cup await, are teams that have recently demonstrated their potential in impressive fashion. 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.
In addition to Wales and Greece, who also impressed in the Nations League in the fall, European Championship participants Ukraine, Turkey, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are also in Pot 2.
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.
