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Pool A

This opening game at the famous Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the global showpiece features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will mark Korea Republic's 11th consecutive World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and led them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The final side 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.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not bring their first 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. How favorable the group appears hinges largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualification group, were handed a major boost by being chosen as a host for the final round and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout stage for the very first time after eight prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Pool 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 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 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark defensive approach hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their roster is without obvious superstars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group phase exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

The tiniest country ever to qualify, the Curaçao team, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot less daunting than it could 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 scored eight goals in qualification, always appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by topping a straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers 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 repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, scoring the net eight times but conceding 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 history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 only once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly