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Group A

The first match at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide showpiece features just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will mark Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying section. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks hinges largely on whether Italy make it through the European playoff (the remaining three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the initial phase in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination stage for the very first time after eight prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, 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 beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Group D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, 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 understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad lacks clear stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, 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 fourth team will come from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, ending up second 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, 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 glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals without reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more effective player with his country's side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight World Cup berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as some past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA 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 the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals freely 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 qualify 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 defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively 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 FIFA-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualification section, are on a travel ban, potentially