Fans stream into B.C. Place as Canada prepares to face Switzerland in final World Cup group game

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Back to today's match. If Canada wins or draws against Switzerland, they’ll win Group B, meaning they’ll stay in Vancouver for the next game and play the third-place team from either Group E, F, G, I or J. Most of those groups are not settled, so there are several possibilities.

If they lose and come in second, they'll play the runner-up from Group A at Los Angeles Stadium.

Here’s what those two scenarios look like:

In the unlikely — but possible — event Canada comes in third, there won't be a firm path forward until the group stage is complete later this week. That result is a longshot, though: Switzerland would need to beat Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina would need to beat Qatar. The total margin of Canada's loss plus the margin of Bosnia's win would have to be nine goals or more. 

On the subject of goals, we also have a new all-time World Cup goalscorer. 

Lionel Messi bolstered his claim to be the greatest men's soccer player of all time after hitting his 17th and 18th World Cup goals in Argentina's 2-0 win against Austria on Monday. 

All five of Argentina's goals at this tournament so far have come from Messi, who turns 39 today. That means he also leads the race for the Golden Boot — the award given to the player who scores the most goals in a World Cup.

But some of the world's other great goalscorers are also starting to make their mark on this tournament.

French superstar Kylian Mbappé is at four goals — and joint second with 16 on the all-time list — having scored another pair in France's 3-0 win over Iraq. Joining him on four is Norway's goal machine Erling Haaland.

One goal behind in the Golden Boot race is none other than Canada's Jonathan David, whose hat trick against Qatar ties him with Germany's Deniz Undav.

And getting off the mark for Portugal yesterday was another legend: 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, whose two goals against Uzbekistan made him the first player to score in six different men's World Cups.

In other tournament news: We're now at 141 goals scored so far in the 2026 World Cup, meaning the average is still sitting around three goals per game.

That included some one-sided results such as Japan and Spain recording 4-0 wins over Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, respectively; an impressive 5-1 win for the Netherlands over Sweden; and, of course, Canada's historic 6-0 win over Qatar. But there have also been tense high-scoring matches like Norway's 3-2 win over Senegal on Monday.

Notably, the tournament's minnows are still pulling surprises — and scoring goals. Curaçao registered its first ever World Cup point with a 0-0 draw against Ecuador, while the team from Cabo Verde, fresh from their heroic draw against world No. 2 Spain, then held world No. 16 Uruguay 2-2. 

Amazingly, that means Cabo Verde — ranked 67th in the world — has a shot at winning Group H if it beats Saudi Arabia in its final group game on Friday.

Speaking of Switzerland, mention of the mountainous country might conjure up images of alpine meadows and soaring snow-capped peaks, but the Swiss have also been scaling some heights in soccer since the mid-1990s.

They're now regulars at major tournaments, having failed to qualify for the World Cup just twice since 1994 — though they haven't made it past the Round of 16 since a quarter-final appearance in 1954.

They reached their highest FIFA ranking of No. 3 in the world in 1993 and are currently No. 19.

Typically an organized team that includes one or two players with game-changing flair, Switzerland is currently captained by veteran midfielder Granit Xhaka, who has made a record 148 appearances for his country.

Xhaka scored in Switzerland's 4-1 win last week over Bosnia-Herzegovina, which also saw Johan Manzambi — considered one of the country's rising stars — scoring twice as a substitute. Breel Embolo carries the main threat in attack, while the Swiss also have star power in defence in the shape of Manchester City's Manuel Akanji.

Make no mistake, this will be Canada's toughest game to date in this World Cup.

Canada and Switzerland have only faced off once before, with the Canadians winning a 3-1 friendly match in May 2022.

I'll be reporting from inside B.C. Place for Canada's critical Group B match against Switzerland.

It's hard to know what kind of play we'll see from both sides, but one thing we're definitely seeing plenty of is red and white.

The flags of Canada and Switzerland feature red and white and no doubt supporters of both teams will be decked out in their national colours. That could make it a bit hard to tell the two fanbases apart.

For what it's worth, while both countries' national colours feature red, they don't use the same shade of red. 

According to a Swiss government website, the shade of red on the country's flag is Pantone 485C, which is described as "a mixture of magenta and yellow."  

The Government of Canada's website, meanwhile, says the red on the flag and other official logos features the slightly brighter Pantone 032 C.

As for what we'll see today on the pitch, Canada is expected to wear its white kit while Switzerland will be decked out in red shirts.

Hundreds of fans wrote messages on a banner that will be paraded to B.C. Place to honour Ismaël Koné, the Canadian midfielder who suffered a broken leg in Canada's game last week against Qatar. 

"For Koné" and "get well soon” are amongst the messages written on the banner outside Fionn MacCool’s, a bar in Vancouver.

What would a win today mean for Koné — and for Canada? Tap here to join the conversation.

Reaction to Ismaël Koné's horrific World Cup ending injury

Canada's World Cup suffered a devastating blow when Ismaël Koné's tournament came to a heartbreaking end through injury. We react to what it means for Canada moving forward.

In a World Cup campaign of highlights so far, there has been, of course, one significant dark moment for Canada. Ismaël Koné's horrific injury during the Qatar match, and the sight of his teammates' shocked reactions, brought perspective to the spectacle.

Amazingly, Koné was sitting upright and acknowledging the crowd's cheers and applause as he was stretchered out of the stadium en route to surgery for a broken leg. On Saturday, the men's national team posted a heartwarming video of the players welcoming Koné back to the squad (as a self-described "assistant coach"), following his discharge from Vancouver General Hospital.

With such a serious injury, there is obvious concern for Koné's career as his path to recovery will be long. 

In the short term, it leaves Marsch with a big gap to fill in the team's midfield — one that will likely be filled by 22-year-old Nathan Saliba, Koné's childhood friend who replaced him in the Qatar match, and then provided one of the 2026 World Cup's most emotional moments so far when he held up Koné's shirt after scoring a peach of a free kick.

Saliba will be eager to show he can step up for his friend and his team. 

And together, the Canadians can use this adversity to their advantage. The emotion surrounding Koné's departure gives this already tight-knit team something to rally around, more fuel for their drive to go even further than the Round of 32.

Dan Burritt

Switzerland fans are meeting cheers and boos from Canadian fans along the seawall as they march to B.C. Place Vancouver. But for the most part, the respective red and white supporters are being respectful to one another.

I'm at Science World now for the start of the Canada fans' march towards B.C. Place. Leaders are frantically trying to organize the happy chaos of thousands of fans decked out in red. Here we go!

A Vancouver police team on horseback is clearing the route. It's an incredible scene.

How invested are Canada fans today? I caught up with this group earlier, who were first in line to get into B.C. Place for today's game. They arrived at the entry gate at 8 a.m. PT, one hour before doors opened and four hours before kickoff!

Bunny Horne from Port Coquitlam said arriving early helps keep her nerves in check. "You either pace at home or you pace out here," she said.

Ottawa's Frank Martello and his son Luca are attending their third Team Canada match of this World Cup after scoring a hat trick of group stage tickets for a total cost of $1,800 each, or $600 per game.

"I woke up early, excited and nervous," said Luca. "I really hope we finish top of the group."

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