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Group A

This initial game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase record at the worldwide tournament features just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark South Korea's 11th successive World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a European qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw looks hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European play-off (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the group stage in four of the past five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a major boost by being selected as a host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout stage for the first time after eight previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, 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 sent back. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that included a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their squad is without obvious superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While 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, conceded a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable player with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (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 executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily 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 peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who were defeated once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially