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Pool A

The opening match at the historic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the global tournament includes just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final berth as hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw appears hinges largely on whether Italy progress 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 last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA 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 in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were handed a major boost by being chosen as a host for the final phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the first time after 8 prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that included a run of three successive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. 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 USA seemed in a poor state, 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 defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad lacks obvious superstars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two matches. The group’s fourth team will come from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group phase exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden 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 triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always looks a more effective player with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by dominating a manageable qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualification. 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 stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding 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 football history, but having not managed to qualify 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 cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that allowed only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who sailed through qualification, winning five games out of five, scoring 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest FIFA-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, potentially