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Pool A

This first game at the historic Azteca Stadium will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the worldwide showpiece features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw appears hinges largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA playoff (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following 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 unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were handed a significant advantage by being selected as a host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia team and their roster is without clear superstars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's final team will come from the winner of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After successive 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 presenting a huge challenge 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 netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring 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 permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals berth by topping a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in 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 successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak 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 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 FIFA-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially