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Pool A

The first match at the famous Azteca venue will mirror the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination phase history at the global tournament features just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended player.

This will represent Korea Republic's 11th consecutive World Cup appearance. 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. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification section. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European playoff (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualifying 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 squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout stage for the first time after eight prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s only previous finals, 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 drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that included a streak of three successive defeats, 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 strongest of the north African nations, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, 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 apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their squad lacks clear stars, but in spite of an shaky start to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The pool's final team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While 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, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant pessimism, 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 triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

The tiniest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the final team picked, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it could have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess 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 effective player with his national side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight finals appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (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 iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football history, but having failed 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 attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that allowed only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualification section, are on a travel ban, possibly