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Pool A

This initial fixture at the historic Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the worldwide tournament features just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

This will represent South Korea's 11th successive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification section. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool 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 point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably 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 favorable the draw appears depends largely on whether Italy progress through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the initial phase in four of the last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the fate that happened to 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 took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that included a streak of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a quarter-final place. Their trademark cautious mindset has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their roster is without clear superstars, but despite an shaky start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The group’s final team will come from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While 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, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as 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 transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more reliable player with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, 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 performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are emerging from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having not managed to reach the finals 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 conceded only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who were defeated once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, potentially