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Pool A

The first game at the iconic Azteca venue will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the global showpiece includes just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh straight finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualifying section. The final team in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the final phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that included a run of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their trademark cautious mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their roster lacks clear stars, but despite an shaky start to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

The smallest country ever to qualify, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team drawn, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it could have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals freely at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African football history, but having failed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially