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Group A

This first match at the historic Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the global showpiece includes just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight berth as hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying section. The fourth side in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw looks hinges mostly on whether Italy progress through the European play-off (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the final phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout stage for the first time after eight prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that featured a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% 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 past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar defensive approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their roster is without clear superstars, but in spite of an shaky start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's final team will emerge from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted 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, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool 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 scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more effective performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive finals appearance by dominating a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA 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 performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also struggling 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 golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, winning five games out of five, netting 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 once in a difficult third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, potentially