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Group A

This first game at the iconic Azteca venue will mirror the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination phase record at the global showpiece features just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third last-eight appearance as hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup 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 straight finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a far from easy qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears hinges largely on whether Italy progress through the European playoff (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were given a major advantage by being selected as a host for the final round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout stage for the first time after 8 previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that included a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect record.

Pool D

Early 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 message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious mindset hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their squad lacks clear stars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, 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 fourth team will emerge from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group phase exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive style has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing 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 participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by dominating a manageable qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential 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 meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, winning five games out of five, scoring 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. Iran, who lost only once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially