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Group A

The opening game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the global tournament includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

It will mark South Korea's 11th successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented group of players 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 group appears depends mostly on whether Italy progress through the European playoff (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a major boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification 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 dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a poor condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. 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 friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar defensive mindset hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their roster lacks clear stars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following back-to-back group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, ending up in second place 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, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden generation 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 implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more effective performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering 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 straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; 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 create a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also struggling 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 golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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 only once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly