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Pool A

The initial match at the famous Azteca venue will mirror the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout stage record at the global tournament includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. 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 made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw appears depends mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the initial phase in four of the past five World Cups 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 veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualification group, were handed a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout phase for the first time after eight prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect 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 past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark defensive mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their squad lacks obvious stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will come from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline 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 constant declinism, 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. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it might have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by dominating a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as some past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualification. 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 iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, scoring the net eight times but letting in 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 successful side in African history, but having failed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice 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 ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised 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 once in a difficult third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially