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Group A

This first game at the famous Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's elimination phase record at the global showpiece includes just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third last-eight berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a far from easy qualifying group. The fourth 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 twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not bring their first-ever 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 looks hinges largely on whether Italy progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout phase for the first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell 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 restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Pool D

Early 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 seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase exits and a last-eight place. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their squad is without clear stars, but despite an shaky start 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 group’s final team will come from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge 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 defence 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 declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool 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 qualification, always appears a more effective player with his national side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European 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 performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, scoring the net eight times but letting in 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 history, but having failed 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 attacking threat, but it was a defence that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualifying, 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 once in a tricky third phase qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially