Northern Ireland will face hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B of the World Cup if they come through March's tricky play-off. Michael O'Neill's side finished third in their qualifying group behind Germany and Slovakia, but still booked a play-off spot thanks to their Nations League finish in 2024. Northern Ireland face a difficult play-off semi-final in Italy, who have not played at the World Cup since 2014, on 26 March in Path A.
Getting their World Cup qualifying adventure underway with a routine performance over the weekend as they cruised their way to a 4-0 romp at home against Kosovo, the Swiss have now won all of their previous four appearances across all competitions and they are enjoying their longest winning run since the summer of 2021. Signing off June's international fixtures with another stellar 4-0 victory against the USA, Yakin's side have continued on a rise up the FIFA rankings.