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Pool A

This opening game at the famous Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 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 last were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended player.

It will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The fourth team 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

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably 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 draw appears depends largely on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past 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 individuals hoping to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualification group, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout stage for the first time after eight prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. 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 included a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal risk 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 sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% record.

Group D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal 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 across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their familiar defensive mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster lacks clear stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will come from the winner of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking style has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, finishing 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, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more effective player with his country's side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive finals berth by topping a straightforward qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as some past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow 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 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 peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively 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. Team Melli, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly