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Group A

The initial match at the historic Azteca venue will mirror the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination phase record at the worldwide tournament features just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final berth as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

This will mark Korea Republic's 11th straight finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification section. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears depends largely on whether Italy make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 contenders 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 last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were handed a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination stage for the very first time after eight previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, 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 across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious mindset has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster lacks obvious superstars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third round 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 fourth team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following back-to-back group phase exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive style has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, finishing in second place 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, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by topping a straightforward qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers 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 set up a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

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

Egypt are the most decorated side in African history, but having failed to qualify during their golden 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 defensive unit that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualifying, 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. Iran, who lost once in a difficult third-round qualification section, are on a travel ban, potentially