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Pool A

This opening match at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination stage history at the worldwide tournament features just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended player.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and guided them unbeaten through a anything but easy 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.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach 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. How kind the draw appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the initial phase in four of the last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were handed a major advantage by being selected as a host for the final phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively 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 the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, suffering defeats 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 message understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

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

Pool E

After successive group phase exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good 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 inspirational. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team picked, however, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it could have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, 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 consecutive finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely 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 reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualifying, 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-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly