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Group A

This first fixture at the famous Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase history at the worldwide showpiece features just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended footballer.

It will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and guided them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualification group. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the most talented group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the initial phase in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout phase for the very first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Group D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. 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 exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar 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 team and their squad lacks obvious superstars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third phase 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 come from the victor of the European Play-off 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 progressive style has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious squad 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, netting 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable performer with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight finals berth by topping a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 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 goalscorers in qualification. 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 stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but conceding 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 football history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their golden 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 just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant 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 FIFA-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost once in a difficult third phase qualification group, are on a travel ban, possibly