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Pool A

This initial game at the famous Azteca Stadium will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase history at the worldwide tournament includes just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying section. The fourth side 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.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group appears depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European 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 qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group 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 Morocco; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout stage for the very first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark defensive mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster is without clear stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive style has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, finishing second 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, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as good 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. After an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third consecutive finals berth by topping a straightforward qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers 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 set up a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring 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 failed to qualify 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 meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, 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 only once in a difficult third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly