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Pool A

This opening match at the iconic Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's elimination stage record at the global tournament includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final berth as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

It will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a far from easy qualifying group. The final team in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the initial phase 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 probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

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

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, suffering defeats 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 ideas 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 playing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final place. Their trademark defensive approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia side and their squad is without obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy start 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 final two fixtures. The pool's final team will come from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although 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 paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good 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, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will play in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, scoring the net eight times but conceding 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 not managed to reach the finals during their peak 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 ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualifying, 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. Team Melli, who lost once in a difficult third phase qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially