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Group A

This initial game at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout phase record at the global tournament features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended footballer.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh successive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and led them without a loss through a anything but 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.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group appears hinges largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated 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 booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination stage for the first time after eight previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior finals, 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 beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Pool 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their squad lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like posing 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 including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant declinism, 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, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals without none.

The smallest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it might have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more reliable player with his country's side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering 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 appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress 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 stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African history, but having failed to qualify 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 defensive unit that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, 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 only once in a difficult third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly