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Pool A

The opening match at the famous Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the global 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 squad and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended player.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying section. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not bring their first 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 progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were given a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect record.

Group D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, suffering defeats 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 start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their squad is without obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage eliminations, 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 presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious 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 implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third straight finals appearance by topping a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as some past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in 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 football history, but having failed to reach the finals 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 attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who were defeated only once in a tricky third phase qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially