Switzerland and Canada are playing for the top spot in Group B.
Canada scored 6 vs Qatar to historic first World Cup win.
The deciding matchup is set to be played in Vancouver on June 24.
With Switzerland and Canada entering their final group stage match level on points with 4, first position in Group B is at stake. Both teams are coming off blowout wins on matchday 2. The co-hosts annihilated Qatar 6-0, while the Swiss took down Bosnia & Herzegovina 4-1.
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Canada is in the superior position entering the game. Not only do they have the advantage of playing in front of a home crowd, but a draw earns them the group win thanks to a better goal difference. So it will be interesting how this match plays out, as Canada can afford to play conservatively. Also, neither team wants to suffer a big loss, which opens the admittedly small possibility of falling into the third-place battle.
While Canada deserves a lot of credit for its 6-0 win over Qatar, they aren’t usually a high-scoring team. They hadn’t scored more than 2 goals in their previous 11 matches. So how capable they are of breaking down a Swiss team known for its defensive discipline remains to be seen. Jonathan David’s return to form with a hat trick against Qatar and Alphonso Davies playing every minute of the victory are major boosts, though.
Granit Xhaka continues to be the engine of the Switzerland side. Stephen Eustaquio should be the man tasked with limiting Xhaka’s influence, but concerningly for Canada, he missed training ahead of the game. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s Silvan Widmer will need to use all his experience to keep Davies in check in another key matchup.
Draw (+210)
While this match should have all the ingredients for an end-to-end battle, we’re going with more of a conservatively played stalemate. Canada will want to advance to the knockout round for the first time ever in style, but it may require too much aggression than it’s willing to in order to break Switzerland’s defense.
On the other side, Switzerland isn’t a team to push forward unless it needs to. The team’s inability to convert chances was on display in the opening 1-1 draw with Qatar, when they had 27 total shots. Moreover, it took them until the 74th minute to score against Bosnia & Herzegovina, which opened the floodgates. Draws in warm-up games against Norway and Australia also showcased Switzerland’s conservative nature.
Under 2.5 Goals (-140)
Canada and Switzerland might’ve combined for 10 goals just by themselves in matchday 2, but as we said, we’re expecting a far more conservative game involving two more evenly matched teams.
Canada might push early to see if it can get a quick goal, get the crowd onside, and force Switzerland to be more aggressive. But if that fails, expect both teams to limit how many bodies forward they commit. So if you’re heading to BetMGM, one of the top World Cup betting sites, we’d go with the under at -140.
Jonathan David (+220)
We backed David to snap his struggles against Qatar, and he did so in spectacular fashion. With a hat trick to regain his confidence, we’ll ride with Canada’s record goalscorer again. As the slight favorites, Switzerland’s Breel Embolo (+185) and Cedric Itten (+210) are the top anytime goalscorer options.
But as we laid out before, we’ll bank on Canada wanting to make history for its home fans in style. So while David might have to get his goal early when the co-hosts are aggressive, his movement and instinctive finishing should mean Switzerland’s disciplined defense should only need to give him the smallest of chances to succeed.
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