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Pool A

The first fixture at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the global showpiece features just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight berth as hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's 11th consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification section. 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 on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw appears depends largely on whether Italy progress through the European play-off (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a major advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's 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 take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after 8 prior group-stage exits. 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 drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that included a run of three consecutive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States 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 apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark defensive approach hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky start to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's fourth team will come from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, 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, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team picked, though, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it might have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (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 iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, 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 decorated side in African football history, but having not managed 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 reserved place for Oceania essentially meant 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 difficult third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, possibly