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Group A

This initial fixture at the historic Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination phase record at the worldwide tournament includes just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh successive World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. The final team in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff featuring 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 deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw looks depends largely on whether Italy make it through the European play-off (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a major boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the final phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after 8 prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats 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 deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, 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 message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight appearance. 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 Australia team and their roster lacks clear superstars, but in spite of an shaky 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 fixtures. The group’s final team will emerge from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive style has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored 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 paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious squad 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 improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective performer with his national side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, 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 straight World Cup appearance by topping 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 staggering 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch 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 qualification, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily 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 cutting edge, but it was a defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost only once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially