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Pool A

The first match at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination stage history at the global showpiece features just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight appearance as hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will mark South Korea's 11th successive finals appearance. 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 unbeaten through a anything but easy qualification section. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a European qualifying play-off featuring 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, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw appears hinges largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the European playoff (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a major advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the final phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Group D

Early last year, the USA 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 apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight appearance. 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 lacks obvious superstars, but despite an shaky start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's final team will come from the victor 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 shift to a more attacking style has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive test 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 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 constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful 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 inspirational. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, 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 made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a straightforward qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, finding 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 decorated side in African history, but having failed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who sailed through qualification, 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 once in a tricky third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly