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Group A

The first fixture at the historic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide tournament features just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

It will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive finals appearance. 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 coach and led them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualification section. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group appears depends mostly on whether Italy make it through the European play-off (the remaining 3 contenders 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 unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third phase qualification group, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a host for the fourth round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after eight previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping 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 took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that included a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win 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 friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark defensive approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster lacks clear stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's fourth team will come from the winner of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, 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 pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it might have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th consecutive 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 combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by topping a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in 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 decorated side in African history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the global 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 unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised 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 were defeated only once in a difficult third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially