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Pool A

The first fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the worldwide showpiece includes just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended footballer.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th straight World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification group. The fourth 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

Canada have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the European play-off (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss 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 qualified without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a major advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn 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 Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the fate that befell 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 involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three successive 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 best of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a dismal 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 ideas understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their familiar cautious mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their squad is without clear stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two matches. The group’s final team will come from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive style has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, finishing second 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, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of permanent pessimism, 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, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals without none.

The tiniest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the fourth team picked, though, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it could have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (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 iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice 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 undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, 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 lost only once in a difficult third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, potentially