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Group A

This opening fixture at the famous Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the worldwide showpiece features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

This will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup 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. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The final team in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first finals 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 favorable the group appears hinges mostly on whether Italy progress through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 contenders 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 tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the easiest 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 ended up in fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after eight previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that included a streak of three successive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing 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 scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia team and their roster is without obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky start to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it 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 victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive style has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador 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 including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden generation 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 implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it could have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective performer with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a manageable qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it 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 performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are emerging from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely 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 not managed 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 undefeated.

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