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Pool A

This first game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination stage history at the worldwide showpiece features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

This will mark South Korea's 11th consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from easy qualifying section. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks hinges largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the European playoff (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated 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 unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification section, were given a major boost by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção 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 remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that included a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, suffering defeats 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 understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their squad is without clear superstars, but despite an iffy start 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 last two matches. The pool's fourth team will come from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking style has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a huge test 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 including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, 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 transformative. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals without none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always looks a more effective player with his country's side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will play in their 8th successive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by dominating a manageable qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, 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 performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, scoring 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 successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice 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 meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to 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. Iran, who were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially