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Pool A

The initial fixture at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout stage history at the worldwide showpiece includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw appears depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European play-off (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase 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 without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were given a major advantage by being selected as a host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

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

Carlo Ancelotti took over as 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 overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early 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 thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase exits and a quarter-final place. Their trademark defensive mindset has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their squad lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive style has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted 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, let in a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire 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, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team picked, however, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it might have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more effective performer with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a manageable qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African 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 defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, scoring 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 only once in a difficult third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially