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Pool A

This first fixture at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide tournament includes just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best squad in their history, with key men 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 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a major advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping 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 became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Group 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 friendly matches. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark defensive approach has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

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

Group E

Following back-to-back group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge 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 ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it could have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight finals appearance by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily 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 failed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively 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-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a travel ban, possibly