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Pool A

The opening game at the famous Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout phase history at the global showpiece includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible footballer.

This will mark South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup qualification. Icon 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. Hong is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification section. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever 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 favorable the group appears hinges largely on whether Italy make it through the European playoff (the other 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 quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the final phase and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout stage for the very first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell 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 travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that included a run of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable 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-attack, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. 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 phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia side and their roster is without clear stars, but despite an iffy 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 matches. The pool's final team will come from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of permanent pessimism, 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 inspirational. After an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always appears a more effective performer with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive World Cup berth by dominating a straightforward qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the shadow 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, finding goals easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African football history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised 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. Iran, who were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, possibly