Bosnia-Hercegovina

Never in my lifetime did I think Canada would host a men’s World Cup. We hosted an impressive Women’s World Cup but I figured we really needed to improve our national team big time if we wanted to host a men’s World Cup.

This paragraph is my personal opinion. I am happy that Canada is one of the three host nations but I’m unhappy that only two Canadian cities will stage matches. Toronto and Vancouver are good picks but we could have also added in Edmonton and Montreal. Those two cities have the two biggest stadiums in Canada. Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium and Montreal’s Olympic Stadium can seat just over 56,000. Why weren’t they included?

I’m also unhappy Mexico is only having three cities stage matches. Mexico hosted two previous World Cups and they have good enough venues. The three staging matches are Mexico City’s 87,500-seat Azteca Stadium which was part of Mexico’s two previous World Cups and even hosted matches during the 1968 Summer Olympics. Second is Monterrey’s Estadio BBVA. It’s a modern 53,500-seat stadium that opened to the public in 2015. Third is Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron. This stadium opened in 2010, seats almost 50,000 and was the host venue for the 2011 Pan Amercian Games.

Those wondering about the two Canadian stadiums, Vancouver’s BC Place was opened in 1983 and can seat 54,000. Toronto’s BMO Field was opened in 2007 and can seat 45,000.

Anyways, that’s enough for stadium talk until I focus on the U.S. Now it’s time to focus on the teams of World Cup’s Group B:

-Canada(30): To most of the world, Canada is seen as a joke in football. Sure, our women are very good at delivering in major tournaments, but our men are very lackluster. The Canucks have only qualified for two previous World Cups and have lost all their matches. Back in 1986, they didn’t score a single goal. In 2022, they finally scored but still lost all their matches. Much to Canada’s relief, they only finished second-last with hosts Qatar behind them. More on them later. The Canadian men have delivered some noteworthy feats in the past. Fourth at the 2024 Copa America and winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 1985 and 2000. Most recently, they beat the United States for third-place at the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada has worked hard to build a national team the host nation can be proud of. American Jesse Marsch is the head coach with a mix of other coaches from North America and Europe. The top players of the team are goalkeeper Maxine Crepeau who plays for Orlando City, defender and captain Alphonso Davies who plays for Bayern Munich, midfielder Jonathan Osorio who plays for Toronto FC, and striker Cyle Larin who plays for Southampton. For their play in the last 12 months, their most notable wins are Ukraine, Wales and Romania. They’ve had notable draws to Colombia and Ecuador and their only loss has been to Australia. Chances are Canada can rise to the occasion and deliver a great showing as a host nation!

-Bosnia-Hercegovina (65): If there’s one thing to learn from the qualifying matches, it’s that you should never underestimate Zmajevi or The Dragons. Their road to the World Cup led them to the longer path after they finished second to Austria in their qualifying group. They would have to face Wales and Italy in the playoff berths. In both cases, they drew 1-1 during the game and won on penalty kicks. Never underestimate the power of teams you dismiss as ‘minnows.’ Interesting they’ve never qualified for a Euro but this will be their second World Cup!

Leading the coaching for the team is Bosnia’s Sergej Barbarez. Only two members of Bosnia’s coaching staff are not from Bosnia. Top players for the team include defender Sead Kolasinac who plays for Italy Serie A team Atalanta, midfielder Amir Hadziametovic who plays for Hull City and legendary striker Edin Dzeko. Their play has been notable these past twelve months for resulting in a lot of draws. Their wins may have been to Malta, San Marino and Romania but they’ve achieved draws against more lauded teams like Austria, Wales and Italy. The latter two, they had the winning edge in penalty kicks. Chances are it’s here in United 2026 where Bosnia can surprise the world on a big scale!

-Qatar (55): It’s tempting to either feel sorry for The Maroons or laugh at them after the 2022 World Cup. Back in 2022, they achieved three ignominious firsts for a World Cup host nation: first-ever host nation to lose their opening match, first-ever host nation to lose all their Group Stage games, and first-ever host nation to finish dead last! But Qatar showed they can rebound from humiliation. Back in 2023, they successfully defended their AFC Asian Cup on home soil. For World Cup qualifying, this marks the first time they’ve achieved qualification outside of hosting the last Cup with Almoez Ali being the second-biggest scorer of the qualifiers. No kidding they will be coming here with something to prove.

The current team’s head coach is Spain’s Julen Lopetegui and the majority of its coaching staff is Spanish. All but one of the players play in teams with Qatar’s Stars League. Top players include goalkeeper Meshaal Barsham, defender Boualem Khoukhi, midfielder Abdulaziz Hatem and strikers Hassan al-Haydos and Almoez Ali. The last twelve months have included wins against Iran and the UAE, draws against Bahrain, Oman and Syria, and loses against Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe and Tunisia. North America can be the stage for Qatar to prove their redemption in the football world.

-Switzerland (19): Right now the A-Team or the Nati are hard to describe. Their common World Cup frustration of bombing out in the Round of 16 keeps on happening, like the three previous World Cups. The past two Euros showed some improvement as in those two, the Swiss team won their first knockout match and made it as far as the quarterfinals. It’s a case that the talent is there but it’s a matter of consistent delivering.

The Swiss coaching staff is completely Swiss and the Head Coach Murat Yakin is the same coach from World Cup 2022. Top players include goalkeeper Gregor Kobel who plays for Borussia, defender Ricardo Rodriguez who plays for Spain’s Betiz, legendary midfielder Granit Xhaka who plays for Sunderland and striker Breel Embolo who plays for France’s Rennes. Their play in the last 12 months have been mostly consistent. Their most notable wins include the United States, Mexico and Sweden. They’ve had draws to Slovenia and Norway and their only loss was to Germany back in March. Chances are here in World Cup 2026, Switzerland can deliver their best finish ever.

My Qualifier Predictions: This is a very different mix of teams. It’s easy for me to make my first pick: Switzerland. My second pick is tough but I will go with Bosnia. I predict Canada to be the wildcard qualifier.

And there is my look at World Cup Group B. Interesting three of the nations are either former or present host nations. More unique group mix-ups to come.

WORK CITED:
“2026 FIFA World Cup.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2026. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_FIFA_World_Cup>

Group F is one group that has one country almost guaranteed to come out on top. However the second team to move on could be any of the other three. I guess Group F is a ‘Group Of Death’ in that sense. Here’s my rundown of the Group F teams:

-Argentina (7)- Argentina is another country at the World Cup with a legacy. This is their sixteenth World Cup. They’ve made it to the finals four times and won twice. Argentina has always been seen as a real threat in football these past few decades with a well-known aggressive play. They’ve been churning out great after great with Mario Kempes, Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta, Carlos Teves and most recently Lionel Messi. However they do have their glitches. For starters, they have not made it past the quarterfinals since 1990. With Maradona coaching, it looked like 2010 would be the year they’d break their bad luck. They almost did as they were brilliant in group play and in their Round of 16 match against Mexico but were halted by Germany 4-0. Getting knocked out in the quarterfinals at the 2011 Copa America didn’t help either. However the team made considerable improvement with the addition of Alejandra Sabella as coach. Since then their only losses came to South American teams like Brazil, Venezuela and Uruguay, teams they would eventually beat in another recent game. On top of that, Argentina never lost to a European team under Sabella’s coaching. No doubt they have the talent to win. Many predict them to be finalists in Brazil at least. It’s just a matter of them delivering.

-Bosnia-Hercegovina (25)- It’s very common for an athlete or a sports team to lift the spirits of a troubled nation. Bosnia-Hercegovina is a nation still recovering from its brutal civil war from 1992 to 1995. However at last year’s World Cup qualifying, Bosnia’s team gave the people something to cheer about. Also people on the streets could talk about something other than the war. The team was brilliant in qualifying play winning eight games, drawing one and losing one. They scored 30 goals and only conceded six. You can credit this to the guidance of coach Safet Susic and the play of Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko. They were impressive in World Cup qualifying play and they’ve had varied results in friendly play with wins against Mexico and the Ivory Coast but 2-0 losses to Egypt and Argentina. The World Cup is a chance for Bosnia to grow as a team. They’re the only team in Brazil competing in their first World Cup. They pretty much have nothing to lose and everything else to gain.

-Iran (37)- Iran comes to their fourth World Cup here in Brazil hoping for a breakthrough. They’ve won the Asian Cup three times from 1968 to 1976 but have never been able to advance past the Group Stage at the World Cup in their three previous appearances: 1978, 1998 and 2006. The current team is coached by Carlos Queiroz who managed Portugal at the 2010 World Cup. Top player is Charlton Athletics forward Reza ‘Gucci’ Ghoochannejhad who did most of the scoring in World Cup qualifying. They have been able to show their prowess well by beating South Korea, who is traditionally Asia’s strongest team, twice. Most of their friendly play has been so-so as they’ve drawn three of their four matches, only losing to Guinea 2-1. 2014 looks like a great chance for Iran to have the World Cup breakthrough they’ve been waiting for.

-Nigeria (44)- Nigeria had its best days in the 1990’s when it made it to the Round of 16 in two World Cups. They come to their fifth World Cup hoping to reclaim their greatness despite not having a lot expected upon them. They are the reigning African Cup of Nations holders from 2013. The team is led by Stephen Keshi who was part of Nigeria’s first ever World Cup team back in 1994. The team’s players come from a mix of players from European leagues and Nigeria’s national league. Some of their star players like John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses and Efe Ambrose play for the top teams like Chelsea and Celtic. Nigeria has performed well in friendly play, losing only to Mali and Ghana in penalty kicks. They’ve also has scoreless draws against Mexico and Greece and 2-2 draws against Scotland and Italy. 2014 could be a comeback for Nigeria.

Now my prediction for the two advancers: they only way I cannot see Argentina from being #1 in this group or failing to advance is if they’re too overconfident, but I highly doubt it. Second advancer will be Iran, though Bosnia-Hercegovina can have a case of beginner’s luck if they play as brilliant in Brazil as they did in qualifying.

STADIUM SPOTLIGHT

-SALVADOR : Arena Fonte Nova

Year Opened: 2013

World Cup Capacity: 48,747

World Cup Groups Hosting: B, E, F, H

Additional World Cup Matches Contested: Round of 16 (H1 vs. G2) & a quarterfinal

Salvador was one of those cities that needed a new stadium. However its top reason wasn’t because of the luxury of hosting a World Cup but of a tragic disaster instead. The older Estadio Fonte Nova, built in 1951 and home to football club EC Bahia, was starting to show its wear. Then on November 25, 2007, a section of the stadium’s highest terrace collapsed during a game celebration. Seven people were killed and forty others were injured. The governor of Bahia was fast to act as the next day he closed the stadium and the day after ordered that the stadium be demolished and a new one be created. The stadium seats were all demolished with only the field being kept. A group of architects from Brunswick, Germany who helped redesign Hanover’s old stadium in time for the 2006 World Cup were put in charge of the redesign of the Fonte Nova including turning it from a stadium into an arena with a lightweight roof.

The new stadium was opened in April 2013 and even hosted some games of the Confederations Cup. In the months leading up to the World Cup, the stadium has had problems such as blind spots for some spectators as well as some puddles and excessive dust. In addition, the lightweight rood proved to be too lightweight as a section collapsed May 27, 2013 because of heavy rain. No one was injured. The organizers said they were aware of the problems. Whatever the situation, they had a whole year to get it right in time for the World Cup. The World Cup scene and the months thereafter will determine its effectiveness and functionality.

Not only will the stadium be home for FC Bahia but the surrounding area includes a panoramic restaurant, museum of football, car parks, shops, hotels and a concert hall.

And there you go. Another group and another stadium reviewed. Two more groups and three more stadiums to focus on.

Jon The Blogcentric

All the Shtuff that's fit for ME to print!

World Cup 2014 Preview: Group F