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Pool A

The opening match at the iconic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination phase history at the global tournament includes just a single win, achieved 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 last-eight appearance as hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible player.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh consecutive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualification group. The final team in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team make it 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, Switzerland have navigated the initial phase in four of the past five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a major boost by being chosen as a host for the fourth phase and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after eight prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their trademark cautious approach has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad is without obvious superstars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, 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 final team will come from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, finishing 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 paltry 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 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, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more effective player with his national side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualification group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of their most talented 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 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 defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualification, winning five games out of five, scoring 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 were defeated once in a tricky third phase qualification section, are on a travel ban, possibly