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Group A

The initial match at the historic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase record at the global tournament includes just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from easy qualification group. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever 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 draw looks hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the European 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 initial phase in four of the past five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans 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-round qualification group, were handed a significant advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout phase for the first time after eight prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a perfect record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a poor condition, losing 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 defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark defensive mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their roster lacks obvious stars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring 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 declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it might have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always looks a more effective performer with his national side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their eighth successive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight World Cup berth by topping a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, 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 successful side in African football history, but having failed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential 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 meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who sailed 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. Team Melli, who were defeated once in a difficult third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially