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Pool A

This first game at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase history at the worldwide tournament features just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight berth as hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian manager 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 footballer.

It will mark South Korea's 11th successive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualifying group. The final team 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.

Group B

Canada have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the group appears hinges largely on whether Italy make it through the European play-off (the remaining three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably 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 finished fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after eight prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that included a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, losing 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 understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their roster lacks clear stars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up second 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 live in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight World Cup berth by topping a straightforward qualification group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA play-off (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 executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring 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 successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential 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 meant 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-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially