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Pool A

The opening game at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the global showpiece features just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th straight World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification group. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a host for the fourth round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to Brazil 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 very first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar defensive approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia team and their roster lacks clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy start 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 fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted 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.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent 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, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team picked, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it could have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a manageable qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are emerging from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African 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 attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 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 tricky third phase qualification section, are on a travel ban, potentially