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Group A

The initial match at the famous Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the global tournament includes just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight berth as hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh successive finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw looks depends largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through 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 unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were handed a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

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

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor 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 routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their roster lacks clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's final team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although 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 paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create 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 Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily 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 not managed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 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 lost only once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially