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Group A

This opening game at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the global showpiece includes just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification group. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA 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 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it 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 initial phase in four of the last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early 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 past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster is without clear stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's final team will emerge from the winner of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, 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 mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden 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 improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a manageable qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe 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.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but conceding 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 history, but having failed to reach the finals 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 cutting edge, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured 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, 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 lost once in a difficult third-round qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially