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Group A

The first match at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination phase record at the global tournament includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended player.

It will mark Korea Republic's 11th straight World Cup appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualification section. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group appears hinges mostly on whether Italy progress through the UEFA playoff (the remaining three teams 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 last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight prior group-stage exits. 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 assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA 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 past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not altered: they scored 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 superstars, but despite 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 final two matches. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, ending up second 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.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.

The tiniest country ever to qualify, the Curaçao team, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it might have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored 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 successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a manageable qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals freely at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their golden 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 just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualifying, 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 once in a tricky third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly