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Group A

This initial match at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination phase history at the global showpiece features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh straight finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying group. The final side in Group A will be the winner 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 global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European playoff (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualification section, were given a major boost by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout stage for the very first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group phase exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar cautious mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their roster lacks clear superstars, but despite an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's final team will emerge from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While they scored 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 permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as some past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different 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 set up 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 emerging from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, 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 football history, but having failed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only 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, 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 difficult third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, potentially