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Pool A

This opening game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination stage record at the worldwide tournament features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh successive World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured 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 coach and guided them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualifying group. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a European qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not bring their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented group of players in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group appears depends mostly on whether Italy progress through the European playoff (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through 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 probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final phase and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% 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 past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar defensive mindset hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their squad is without obvious stars, but in spite of 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 intense pressure in their last two matches. The group’s final team will emerge from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot less daunting than it could have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his national side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third consecutive finals berth by topping a straightforward qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy 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 qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualification, winning five games out of five, netting 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 were defeated once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially