World Cup Group B Predictions: Game 1

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Ian Wilkerson previews the first two games in Group B with co-hosts Canada taking on Bosina-Herzegovina and Qatar going up against Switzerland.

Group B action at the World Cup begins on Friday

Group B features co-hosts Canada, Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia-Herzegovina
Canada face Bosnia-Herzegovina first on Friday evening
Qatar versus Switzerland follows on Saturday

Co-hosts Canada face a fairly straightforward group as they look to progress to the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time in their history - they line up alongside Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar in Group B.

Here we pick out the best bets for the first round of games in this section, which sees Canada take on Bosnia and Qatar face Switzerland.

Best Bets:

Jonathan David to score at any time vs Bosnia-Herzegovina @ 7/5

Switzerland to win to nil vs Qatar @ 3/4

Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina (Friday, 8pm)

Canada undoubtedly have the best squad that they have had in the nation’s history for this year’s World Cup and the co-hosts will be hoping to have a real impact after landing in a soft section.

The Canucks have had to make do with friendlies in the absence of the rigours of qualifying and have been solid if unremarkable in recent months.

Boss Jesse Marsch has struggled to get all of his star players on the pitch at the same time due to injuries, and that is the case once more with star man Alphonso Davies still struggling to recover from a hamstring strain.

Moise Bombito and Ralph Priso are also doubts for this opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina so Jonathan David may well have to be the player to step up for his injury-hit side.

The striker was hardly at his most prolific for Juventus last season but has an impressive strike rate for Canada, he is the country’s all-time top-scorer with 39 goals, despite the fact that he is only 26.

Side with him to add to that tally in this group curtain-raiser.

See the latest Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina odds on LiveScore Bet

Qatar vs Switzerland (Saturday, 8pm)

Switzerland have become very solid major tournament operators in recent years, reaching the knockout stages of every World Cup and European Championships since 2014.

They could hardly have asked for a better game to kick-off their World Cup campaign than against Qatar, who have been in dismal form lately.

Since losing all three group games as hosts in the last World Cup, this side looks to have gone backwards, with four coaches in the last three years.

Former West Ham and Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui is the latest boss to have a crack, but his returns have not been any better than his predecessors.

Qatar have lost to Uzbekistan, Palestine and Tunisia in the last 12 months, as well as drawing with Syria and El Salvador.

They managed just two shots on target and failed to score in their pair of warm-up games and are likely to be outclassed at this tournament.

Switzerland, in complete contrast, went unbeaten in qualifying, conceding just two goals in six games, and they can prove their quality with another win to nil over a Qatar team who look set to struggle badly this summer.

See the latest Qatar vs Switzerland odds on LiveScore Bet