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Pool A

The first match at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination phase history at the worldwide tournament includes just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third quarter-final berth as hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

It will mark South Korea's 11th consecutive finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but easy qualification section. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the European playoff (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualification group, were handed a major boost by being selected as a host for the fourth phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their roster is without obvious superstars, but despite an shaky beginning 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 last two matches. The group’s final team will emerge from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After successive group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as good 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 transformative. After an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also struggling 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 golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant 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 FIFA-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who were defeated only once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly