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Now we’re really into it: the 2026 Men’s World Cup will hold its first full matchday on Saturday.
The opener of the four-game schedule sees 2022 hosts Qatar face an ambitious Swiss team in Northern California. The drama then shifts to New Jersey for what is arguably the best group stage game of this tournament as Brazil face Morocco in a matchup between two top-10 teams in the FIFA world rankings.
Scotland then kick off their campaign against Haiti before the action concludes in Vancouver where Australia and Turkey meet in what promises to be an intense and hard-fought match.
Let’s go into details about these games.
Qatar vs. Switzerland: How to see
Switzerland arrive at this World Cup with the realistic goal of making a long run into the knockout stages. Switzerland performed superbly in World Cup qualifying, winning UEFA Group B without losing a match. In a group that featured Kosovo, Slovenia and Sweden, the Swiss scored 14 goals and conceded just twice while winning four games and drawing twice. That run has seen Switzerland climb to 19th in the FIFA world rankings.
Head coach Murat Yakin has been the architect of the team’s success, leading Switzerland to play consistently well in major tournaments. He took over in 2021 and led the team to qualification for the 2022 World Cup after finishing above Italy to win their group. At the World Cup, the Swiss advanced to the round of 16 before losing to Portugal. At Euro 2024, Yakin’s team beat Italy in the round of 16 before losing to England in a shootout in the quarter-finals.
Unlike Switzerland, Qatar enter this tournament without much positivity. In 2022, Qatar had the worst campaign of any host nation in World Cup history, losing all three matches and scoring just one goal. Qatar last won on October 14 in a 2-1 victory over the United Arab Emirates in their last World Cup qualifier. The team followed that with a terrible run at the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup, which it hosted, losing all three of its matches to Palestine, Syria and Tunisia.
Qatar is coached by Julen Lopetegui, who was on Spain’s roster at the 1994 World Cup in the USA. The Spaniard was hired in May 2025 and helped the team seal qualification for the World Cup, but he has worked for himself this summer.
Qatar vs. Switzerland: Players to watch
Midfielder · Switzerland
Xhaka is the captain and emotional leader of Switzerland. With a run to the knockouts at this tournament, he is likely to surpass 150 career caps with the national team.
The 33-year-old has been a winner throughout his career. He won two Swiss Superliga titles and a Swiss Cup with Basel. Then, after a stint in Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach, he moved to Arsenal for seven seasons, winning two FA Cups and eventually captaining the team.
In 2023, Xhaka moved to Bayer Leverkusen and was instrumental in snapping Bayern Munich’s run of 11 seasons as Bundesliga champions. He now plays for Sunderland in the English Premier League.
Xhaka is not the player he was in his prime, but he has been instrumental in the national team’s rise this decade. He is now tasked with overseeing the continued progress of the World Cup.
Brazil vs. Morocco: How to see
One of the concerns about expanding the World Cup to 48 teams is that the group stage would be diluted and lack matchups between the star teams. This did not appear to be the case in group C.
Both Brazil and Morocco have the realistic goal of making a long run at this World Cup, and FIFA’s world rankings reflect that, with Brazil in sixth and Morocco in seventh.
As five-time World Cup champions, Brazil have not been as dominant in recent major tournaments. It exited the 2022 World Cup in the quarter-finals after a shootout loss to Croatia. Then, at the 2024 Copa América, Brazil finished second in its group and lost its first knockout match to Uruguay. Brazil also finished fifth in World Cup qualifying in South America.
Brazil attempted to revive the team by hiring legendary Italian head coach Carlo Ancelotti, who has managed many of the biggest clubs in the world, including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain. However, he has never coached a national team before.
While Brazil may not be a top tournament favorite like France or Spain, the team has played well in the build-up to the tournament. In March, Brazil narrowly lost to France 2-1 before defeating Croatia 3-1. In the two tune-up friendlies, Brazil looked strong in wins over Panama and Egypt.
Four years ago, Morocco sent shockwaves at the World Cup, where the “Atlas Lions” made it to the quarter-finals, which included victories over Belgium, Canada, Spain and Portugal.
Since then, Morocco has not given up. The team qualified for the World Cup with a dominant run of qualifying matches, winning all eight matches while scoring 22 goals and conceding just two. After qualifying, Morocco won the 2025 African Cup of Nations for the second time in its history. That tournament had a controversial ending, with Morocco awarded the title when Senegal were adjudged to have lost the final after going off the field first following a controversial VAR decision.
Either way, Morocco is a feared opponent. Much of the team’s success is due to the growth in the recruitment of players of Moroccan descent who were born and raised in Europe. Out of the 26 players in Morocco’s World Cup squad, 19 players were born outside the country.
Among the foreign-born players, top players are Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz and PSG defender Achraf Hakimi, who were both born in Spain. Lille’s teenage midfield sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi was born in France.
The winner of this game will immediately be considered the favorite to at least reach the quarterfinals.
Brazil vs. Morocco: Players to watch
Forward · Brazil
Brazil’s left winger will earn his 50th cap if he plays against Morocco as expected. Real Madrid’s attack typically flows through him as his pace and explosiveness open up space for others like Kylian Mbappé.
Vini Jr. has had some impressive games for Brazil, but at the World Cup he will look to produce performances that place him among the great Brazilians of the past.
Haiti vs. Scotland: This is how you see
On Saturday, Scotland will play their first World Cup match since 1998 when they face Haiti, who will be making their second overall appearance at the tournament and first since 1974.
Scotland will be making their ninth appearance at the World Cup and the team has never been eliminated from the group stage before. Ranked 42nd in the latest FIFA world rankings, this match against Haiti is crucial to the team’s chances of promotion.
With Brazil and Morocco as the other teams in Group C, Scotland will be heavy underdogs in the next two games. But a win on Saturday could be enough for Scotland to finally play in their first ever World Cup knockout round, as eight of the 12 third-placed teams progress.
Led by head coach Steve Clarke since 2019, Scotland were one of the European surprises in World Cup qualification after winning UEFA Group C over Denmark, Greece and Belarus. In the final game at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, Scotland needed a result over Denmark and came away with a 4-2 win to end their 28-year World Cup absence.
Based on their two pre-World Cup friendlies, Scotland look primed for the tournament after defeating Curaçao, 4-1, on May 30 and Bolivia, 4-1, on June 6.
Haiti come into the tournament as the second-lowest team in FIFA’s world rankings at 83, ahead of only New Zealand at 85. Like Scotland, any realistic hope of progressing depends on winning this game on Saturday.
Coached by Sébastien Migné of France, Haiti was able to qualify for this World Cup through a CONCACAF tournament that lacked its three strongest teams in Mexico, the United States and Canada, who automatically qualified as co-hosts.
Haiti’s history was inspiring as the team was forced to play all of its home games in Curaçao due to unrest in the team’s home country. In the end, the Haitians were able to secure qualification by winning Group C over traditional regional powers Costa Rica and Honduras. On the final matchday, Haiti defeated Nicaragua, 2–0, to finish on top of the group.
Haiti vs. Scotland: Players to watch
Midfielder · Scotland
The Napoli midfielder is key to Scotland’s success at the World Cup. Andy Robertson is the captain but McTominay driving the attack was instrumental in the team’s successful qualification. Needing a win over Denmark in the final qualifier at Hampden Park, McTominay scored the first goal of the game with a bicycle kick to set the tone for a 4-2 win.
Against Haiti, Scotland will probably have most of the possession and most of the chances. The question will be whether the Scots can convert the chances into goals. McTominay will be important to that effort.
Australia vs. Türkiye: This is how you see
In 2002, Türkiye seemed like a team on the rise after finishing third at the World Cup in Korea/Japan. Surprisingly, after their 3-2 victory over South Korea in the third place, Türkiye would not return to the tournament for 24 years.
On Saturday night in Vancouver, Türkiye finally returns to the tournament when it takes on Australia.
Türkiye qualified for the 2026 World Cup after finishing second in UEFA Group E behind Spain but ahead of Bulgaria and Georgia. This sent Türkiye into the playoffs, where they got past Romania in the semi-finals and Kosovo in the final.
Coached by Italian Vincenzo Montella since 2023, Türkiye enter this tournament ranked 22nd in the FIFA world rankings and are playing fantastic football, with seven wins and a draw in their last eight matches, including the World Cup qualifying play-offs and the last two friendlies over North Macedonia and Venezuela.
Australia enter this game ranked 27th in the FIFA world rankings and will be playing in their sixth consecutive World Cup dating back to 2006. The 2022 tournament in Qatar was a positive experience for the team as they lost to France but defeated Tunisia and Denmark to finish second in their group. In the Round of 16, it produced a respectable effort in a 2–1 loss to eventual champions Argentina.
The Socceroos did not have a smooth run in qualifying. A home loss to Bahrain and a draw with Indonesia resulted in the sacking of head coach Graham Arnold.
Tony Popovic was then hired and the team responded very well with an undefeated run the rest of the way. Highlights included a 1-0 win over Japan. Australia punched their ticket in June with a 2-1 comeback win away to Saudi Arabia.
Australia vs. Türkiye: Players to watch
Midfielder · Türkiye
Türkiye’s new generation has many promising young players, but Güler is the best. The 21-year-old offensive midfielder is already a mainstay in Real Madrid’s ranks. He joined the Spanish giants in 2023 from Fenerbahçe and in his first season with Real Madrid he won La Liga and the Champions League.
At Türkiye, the offense runs through Güler and he will be difficult for Australia to contain if he is on his game. If Güler struggles in this World Cup debut, Australia will have a shot. Regardless, he is the most significant player in this game.
