Qatar scored a last-minute equalizer to take a point from Switzerland in the opening match of the 2026 World Cup on Saturday, June 13, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. It was a 1-1 draw.
Switzerland’s Briel Embolo calmly converted a penalty in the 17th minute and it looked like Switzerland would hold on for the rest of the game until Qatar’s Boualem Kuki scored in the 94th minute.
The draw secured Qatar’s first points at the World Cup, when they debut as hosts in 2022.
Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first group game on Friday, leaving all four teams in Group B with one point after the first round. Switzerland will next play Bosnia in Los Angeles, while Qatar will head north to take on Canada in Vancouver.
Switzerland were unable to extend their advantage further and faced a nervous final 10 minutes with Qatar looking for an equalizer.
Qatar, still leading by one point, made three changes with an hour remaining.
Briel Emoboro’s penalty in the 17th minute was the only goal of the first half, and Switzerland dominated throughout the first 45 minutes. Qatar should be happy to go into half-time with just a one-goal lead, but they will need to be creative in the second half.
In the 17th minute, Briel Emoboro calmly converted a penalty after Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada was fouled in the penalty area.
Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada came down to stop Switzerland’s Dan Ndoye’s powerful shot in the sixth minute.
We are watching the World Cup Group B showdown between Switzerland and Qatar at Levi’s Stadium.
Switzerland: Gregor Korbel, Nico Elvedi, Manuel Akanji, Denis Zakaria, Bril Embolo, Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Dan Ndoye, Ricardo Rodríguez, Rubén Vargas, Michel Aebisher.
qatar: Mahmoud Abunada, Pedro Miguel, Issa Rai, Jassem Gaber, Edmilson Jr., Akram Afif, Ayub Alawi, Homam Ahmed, Yusuf Abdulisag, Boualem Kuki, Asim Madibo,
Seth Durney: Switzerland 2-1 Qatar
Switzerland have an advantage in experience and quality against Qatar, who have yet to prove they can compete with top teams outside Asia.
John Arnold: Qatar 0-3 Switzerland
Qatar won 2 out of 13 matches in 2025 and 2026 (including 3 as substitutes in the FIFA Arab Cup). It’s hard to see a sudden improvement in quality against a Swiss team that dominated their qualifying group and look balanced.
Jesse Yomtov: Switzerland 4 – 1 Qatar
Swiss captain Granit Xhaka is in good form after a historic season with Sunderland and the team, 19th in the FIFA rankings, will beat Qatar.
Victoria Hernandez: Switzerland 1 – 0 Qatar
Qatar will have to wait one more game to get their first World Cup win simply because Switzerland is the better team.
switzerland world cup schedule
- June 13 vs Qatar – Bay Area, 3pm ET – buy tickets
- June 18 vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina – Los Angeles, 3pm ET – buy tickets
- June 24 vs Canada – Vancouver, 3pm ET – buy tickets
- June 13 vs Switzerland – Bay Area, 3pm ET – buy tickets
- June 18 vs Canada – Vancouver, 6pm ET – buy tickets
- June 24 vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina – Seattle, 3pm ET – buy tickets
- 2022: Argentina
- 2018: France
- 2014: Germany
- 2010: Spain
- 2006: Italy
- 2002: Brazil
- 1998: France
- 1994: Brazil
- 1990: west germany
- 1986: Argentina
- 1982: Italy
- 1978: Argentina
- 1974: west germany
- 1970: Brazil
- 1966: england
- 1962: Brazil
- 1958: Brazil
- 1954: west germany
- 1950: Uruguay
- 1938: Italy
- 1934: Italy
- 1930: Uruguay
Check out USA TODAY Sports’ live group standings, stats and latest standings here.
The 48 participating countries will be divided into 12 groups of four. Each group plays in a round-robin format, with 3 points awarded for a win and 1 point for a tie. The top two teams in each group advance to the Round of 32 along with the top eight third-place teams. Tiebreakers for group standings will be resolved using the following criteria:
- Most points earned in group matches between the teams
- Advantage in goal difference between the teams in group matches
- Most points scored in all group matches between the teams
- The goal difference is large in all group stage games.
- Most points scored in all group league matches
- Highest team behavior score (players and team officials) related to number of yellow and red cards obtained
- Two or more teams tied on points will be ranked according to the latest edition of the FIFA Men’s World Rankings.
Argentina won the 2022 World Cup Held in Qatar, they defeated France on penalties in one of the greatest matches in soccer history. This was the third world championship for the Argentine and the first for superstar Lionel Messi.
- time: 3:00 PM (EST)
- TV channel: fox
- Streaming: FOX One app
- Spanish broadcast: Telemundo, Peacock
Watch the 2026 World Cup with Fubo
