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Pool A

This opening game at the historic Azteca venue will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the global showpiece features just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and led them without a loss through a anything but easy qualification section. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not bring their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw looks hinges largely on whether Italy progress through the European play-off (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the initial phase in four of the past five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a major boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout stage for the very first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that included a streak of three successive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, losing 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 beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their squad is without obvious stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will emerge from the winner of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing 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. While 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 declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable player with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight finals berth by topping a straightforward qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (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 famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy 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 freely at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football history, but having failed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice 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 unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualification, 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 once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a travel ban, possibly