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Pool A

This first game at the famous Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the worldwide 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 squad and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them without a loss through a anything but easy qualifying group. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw looks depends largely on whether Italy make it through the UEFA playoff (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the past 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 veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a major advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after eight previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that included a run of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, 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 message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia side and their squad is without obvious stars, but despite an shaky start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they scored 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, let in a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team drawn, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it might have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective player with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight World Cup berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe 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 play-off (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.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily 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 reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualifying, 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. Iran, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially