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Pool A

The initial fixture at the famous Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination phase history at the worldwide tournament includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended footballer.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh straight finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but easy qualification section. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not bring their first point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks depends mostly on whether Italy progress through the UEFA play-off (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the initial phase in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket 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 World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were given a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

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

Group D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a dismal state, 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 ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their roster is without obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After successive group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted 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 paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more effective player with his national side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as some past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (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.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely 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 reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualifying, 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 tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly