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Group A

The opening fixture at the historic Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's elimination stage record at the global tournament includes just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third last-eight berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

This will mark South Korea's 11th successive World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying 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

Canada have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals 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. The extent to which favorable the group appears depends largely on whether Italy make it through the European playoff (the other 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 last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were handed a major boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated 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 first time after eight previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African sides, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect 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 past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly 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 playing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their squad lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will come from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase exits, Germany 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 presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted 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 paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control 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 clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team picked, however, making the group look a lot less daunting than it might have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more reliable player with his country's side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way 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 secured of a third straight finals appearance by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (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 famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals freely 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 peak 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 defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to 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-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who were defeated only once in a difficult third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly