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Group A

This opening fixture at the iconic Azteca venue will mirror the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout phase record at the worldwide showpiece features just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final appearance as hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will represent Korea Republic's 11th straight finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying group. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the group appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 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 past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a significant advantage by being selected as a host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to 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 traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, 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 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 Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final place. 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 Australia side and their roster is without obvious superstars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful 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. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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 appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering 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 berth by topping a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat 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 Egypt are moving on 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, scoring easily 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 not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that allowed only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed 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. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly