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Pool A

This opening game at the historic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination phase history at the global tournament includes just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

This will represent South Korea's eleventh straight finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualifying section. The fourth side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group appears hinges largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the European play-off (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their familiar cautious mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their squad is without clear stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two matches. The group’s final team will emerge from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted 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, conceded a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without none.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the final team picked, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it could have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective player with his country's side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a manageable qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in 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 decorated side in African history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest FIFA-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualification section, are on a travel ban, possibly