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Pool A

This opening match at the historic Azteca venue will replay the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination phase record at the global showpiece includes just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended player.

This will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualification section. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals 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. The extent to which favorable the draw appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European playoff (the remaining three teams 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 past five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic 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 place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, 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 doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a run of three consecutive 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 overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal 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 message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing 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 exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad lacks obvious stars, but despite an shaky 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 fixtures. The pool's final team will emerge from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a massive challenge 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 defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more effective player with his national side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive World Cup berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it 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 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 conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the world 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 guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualifying, 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. Team Melli, who lost once in a difficult third phase qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially