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Pool A

This first fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will mirror the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the worldwide tournament features just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended player.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh successive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualification group. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a European qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw looks depends largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the other three 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 quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured qualification 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 bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a dismal state, 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 apparently begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin 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 phase exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their roster is without clear stars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While 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 exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious 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 success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring 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 successful side in African football history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a tricky third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly