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Pool A

This opening game at the famous Azteca Stadium will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination stage history at the global tournament includes just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended footballer.

It will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying group. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented group of players in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European 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 navigated the initial phase in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Group 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight 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 free-flowing Australian side and their squad is without obvious superstars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will come from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden generation 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, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to qualify, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team picked, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it might have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more effective player with his national side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, 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 finals appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualification. 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 game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are emerging from the shadow 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 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 fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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. Iran, who lost only once in a difficult third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially