June 13, 2026 | Group B | Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara | Kickoff: 3 PM ET / 10 PM Qatar Time
It has been a World Cup for Qatar, and they weren’t invited.
The Maroons hosted the tournament four years ago in their own backyard in which they lost all four group games. Home empty, no score to celebrate and a reputation to redeem. Where they are now they qualified the old fashioned way defeating the UAE in October after scoring all the points necessary. That changes that in the dressing room. It’s in Lopetegui’s words to describe this team.
Switzerland don’t give a shit. They’ve been to 13 World Cups. They understand how to win group games and to move on. The Europeans know what they do, and Granit Xhaka, Akanji and Gregor Kobel in goal are a trio of quality and tactical intelligence. Don’t lose their group games to teams lower than them frequently and Qatar sit very far behind them on paper.
However, Qatar won a friendly against Switzerland in 2018 1-0. Akram Afif scored. Just worth mentioning.
You can stream Qatar vs Switzerland live online here.Switzerland vs Qatar can be watched online live here.
There are more matches available in Qatar on beIN SPORTS. Kickoff is at 10 PM local time, which is a great time to be catching the show in the late evening on Saturday.
In Switzerland: SRF, RTS or RSI (depending on language region). Free, live and no subscription required.
In the UK: ITVX. No restrictions on streaming with no fuss.
In the US: FOX has it on TV. Online is best or Fox One (Fubo). All new Fubo users have a free trial.
Itvx is accessible for free anywhere else with a VPN directed towards a server in the UK. NordVPN and ExpressVPN will work just as well.
On HDSports: Watch it right here — no cable, no headache due to geographical conditions.
What to Watch For
From the first whistle it’s Akram Afif’s name you’ll be keeping your eye on. He’s not a player that requires much room or time — just a little bit of space or a few moments from the Swiss backline and he’ll let you know. The Swiss defenders are aware of this. Akanji will be on him from the get-go.
Switzerland, on the other hand, will try to control the midfield with Xhaka and Remo Freuler. But if they do then Qatar have a very long evening ahead of them — and they will probably have control of that area. What the Maroons can do is keep them small, beat the Swiss for half an hour and then nail them on the counter when their legs become tired.
So far Lopetegui has won just two of his 13 games with Qatar. It’s a tough starting record for a World Cup debut. However, coaches don’t always play the entire game in a friendly game and the transition to tournament football can happen at a moments notice.
Meanwhile Switzerland have finished a 1-1 draw against Australia in their previous warmup. Not an alarming thing, but not very convincing either. When they’re pushed hard, they can be opened up as Germany showed in March, 4-3. Although Qatar don’t possess the quality to take advantage of that, they have the tactical discipline Lopetegui has attempted to instill.
Group B Picture
On Friday, Canada and Bosnia-Herzegovina evened their scoreline with a draw. So Group B is wide open after Day 1. With three points today either Qatar or Switzerland will be in the driver seat right away — which is anything but a dead rubber opener.
The next fixtures on the Qatar’s agenda are Canada (June 18) and Bosnia-Herzegovina (June 24). They were looking for results in those matches and a minor miracle on goal difference should they fail on Sunday. Doable, but barely. They’re favourites to top the group against Canada and Bosnia next on the agenda for the Swiss.
The Real Story
Qatar are the two time winners of Asian Cup. They know the rules to win tournaments. They’ve been in front of billions, in a pressure situation no qualifying campaign will ever match in Lusail. Although it may not be obvious from the odds, the experience does count.
However, Switzerland are stronger on paper. Hopefully it will be better at night as well. But Qatar are not in the game to fill in the voids — or at least Lopetegui isn’t going to let them imagine that.
Kickoff: 3 PM ET | 8 PM UK | 9 PM Switzerland | 10 PM Qatar
Don’t miss it.
