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Pool A

The opening match at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the worldwide showpiece includes just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended footballer.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh successive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The final 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

Canada have made it for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably 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 kind the group looks hinges mostly on whether Italy progress through the European playoff (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification group, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout stage for the very first time after 8 prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, 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 drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their squad lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will come from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive 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 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 mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals without reply.

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

Pool F

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

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress 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.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy 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, finding goals freely at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African football history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant 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-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost once in a difficult third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially