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Pool A

This initial game at the famous Azteca venue will mirror the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase history at the global tournament features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever 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 hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended player.

It will represent South Korea's 11th successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but easy qualifying section. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best group of players in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA 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 handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and clinched progress 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 bears a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination phase for the first time after eight previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a poor state, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final place. Their familiar cautious approach has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad is without obvious superstars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following back-to-back group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable player with his country's side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented 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 laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football history, but having failed to reach the finals 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 ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, winning five games out of five, scoring 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 were defeated once in a difficult third-round qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially