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Pool A

This first game at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the worldwide tournament includes just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying section. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw looks depends mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the initial phase in four of the past five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a 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 domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses 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 deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% record.

Group D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final place. 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 fluent Australian team and their squad lacks clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's final team will emerge from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy 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 second behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control 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 clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the fourth team picked, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it could have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more effective performer with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by far 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 appearance by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different 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 set up a repeat 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 golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, scoring 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly