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Group A

The initial game at the famous Azteca venue will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide tournament features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's 11th successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played 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 easy qualifying group. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group looks depends largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA play-off (the remaining three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage 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 unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were given a major boost by being selected as a host for the fourth phase and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout phase for the first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, 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 doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA defeated 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 eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious mindset 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 roster is without clear stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After successive group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious squad 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 clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding 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 qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a difficult third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, possibly