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Pool A

This opening fixture at the famous Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase history at the global showpiece includes just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a European qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have made it for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks depends mostly on whether Italy progress through the European play-off (the remaining 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 World Cups 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 veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were given a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn 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 lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that included a streak of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a poor state, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their trademark defensive mindset has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia side and their squad is without clear stars, but in spite of an iffy 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 group’s fourth team will come from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious 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 success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, 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 finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different 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 set up a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, 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 successful side in African football history, but having not managed to qualify during their golden 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 only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualification, 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 tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially