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Pool A

This initial game at the historic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the worldwide tournament includes just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended player.

This will represent Korea Republic's 11th successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and guided them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying section. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best group of players in their nation's history, with stars 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).

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 last-eight participants 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 experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were given a major advantage by being selected as a host for the final phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout stage for the first time after 8 prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three consecutive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas understood 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 prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious approach has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their squad lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating 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).

Group E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, finishing 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, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden generation 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 success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it might have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more effective performer with his national side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight World Cup berth by dominating a manageable qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are emerging from the legacy 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 decorated side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak 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 conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, 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 tricky third phase qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially