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Group A

The opening game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's elimination stage record at the global tournament includes just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third last-eight berth as hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible player.

It will mark Korea Republic's eleventh successive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and led them without a loss through a anything but easy qualifying section. The final team 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 global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not bring their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the European play-off (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 group stage in four of the past five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination phase for the first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a poor state, 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 understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark defensive mindset hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster is without clear superstars, but in spite of an shaky start to the third round of Asian qualification, 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 final team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After successive group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft 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 posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing in second place 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 paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as successful 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. After an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

The smallest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the final team picked, however, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it might have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different 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 game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football 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 defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly