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Pool A

The first game at the iconic 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 worldwide tournament includes just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended player.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured 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 coach and guided them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring 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 goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the group appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the European playoff (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 tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were handed a significant boost by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout phase for the first time after eight prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that included a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, suffering defeats 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 apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

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

Pool E

Following back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although 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, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team drawn, though, making the group look a lot less daunting than it might have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more effective performer with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third straight finals berth by topping a straightforward qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different scorers in qualifying. 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 emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding 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 decorated side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

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, netting 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 were defeated once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly