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Group A

The first match at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination phase record at the global tournament features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third last-eight berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's 11th successive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification group. The fourth team 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

Canada have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably 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. The extent to which kind the draw appears depends 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).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth phase and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after 8 previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that included a run of three consecutive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a poor condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group phase exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster is without clear superstars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will come from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored 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.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool 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 qualification, consistently appears a more effective player with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th successive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by dominating a straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it 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 stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

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

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualification, 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. Iran, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially