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Pool A

The first game at the iconic Azteca venue will mirror the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination stage record at the worldwide tournament features just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place 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 suspended player.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification section. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a major boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout phase for the very first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the fate 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 travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that included a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a dismal condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive approach has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their roster is without clear stars, but in spite of an shaky 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 final two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After successive group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including 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 constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the final team picked, though, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it might have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his national side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, 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 history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualification, winning five games out of five, scoring 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest FIFA-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost only once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially