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Pool A

This first game at the historic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the global showpiece includes just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended player.

It will represent South Korea's 11th successive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualifying group. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff involving 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, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best 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 largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the European play-off (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualification group, were given a major boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior 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 doping 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 campaign that included a run of three successive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a dismal 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 ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their squad lacks clear stars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The group’s fourth team will come from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador 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 including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the golden generation 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 clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way 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 made sure of a third consecutive finals berth by topping a manageable qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European 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 game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but conceding 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 successful side in African history, but having failed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the global 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 unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who were defeated once in a tricky third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, potentially