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Group A

The initial match at the iconic Azteca venue will mirror the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the worldwide tournament includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

It will represent Korea Republic's eleventh straight World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best group of players in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw appears depends largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the European playoff (the remaining three contenders 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 booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were given a significant boost by being selected as a host for the fourth phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

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

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a dismal state, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar defensive approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia side and their squad lacks clear superstars, but despite an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After successive group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful 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 inspirational. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, 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 less daunting than it might have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight finals berth by dominating a manageable qualification group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in 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 history, but having failed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly