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Group A

This opening game at the iconic Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the worldwide tournament includes just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final appearance as hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualification group. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw appears hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the European playoff (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the final round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after eight previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was remembered 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 deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a streak of three successive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a poor state, suffering defeats 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 beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark defensive approach has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia team and their roster lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will come from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, 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.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team picked, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it might have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring 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 qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who sailed 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. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third-round qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially