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Pool A

The opening game at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout phase record at the worldwide showpiece includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a far from easy qualifying group. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the European playoff (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 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 groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were handed a significant advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after eight prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the fate 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 featured a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight place. Their familiar defensive mindset hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster lacks obvious superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The group’s final team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing 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, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification 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 play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a manageable qualification group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the shadow 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, finding goals easily 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 failed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, winning five games out of five, netting 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. Iran, who lost only once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a travel ban, possibly