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Pool A

The first fixture at the famous Azteca venue will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the worldwide tournament includes just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third quarter-final appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended player.

It will mark Korea Republic's 11th straight World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualification group. The final team in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not bring their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw appears depends mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the other three contenders 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 without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the final phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout stage for the first time after eight previous group phase exits. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the United States 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 seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

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

Group E

Following back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring 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 permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will play in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight finals appearance by topping a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as some past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA 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 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 qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring 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 golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualifying, 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. Iran, who lost once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially