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Pool A

The opening fixture at the historic Azteca Stadium will replay the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination phase history at the global showpiece includes just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

This will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from easy qualification group. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best squad 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 hinges largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA playoff (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third-round qualification group, were given a significant advantage by being selected as a host for the final phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout stage for the very first time after eight previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that included a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a dismal condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad is without clear stars, but despite an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including 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 declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable performer with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive 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 straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it 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 game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are emerging from the shadow 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 freely 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 failed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant 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-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who were defeated once in a difficult third phase qualification group, are on a travel ban, possibly