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Pool A

This first fixture at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the global tournament includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended player.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh straight finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification section. 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.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the most talented squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European play-off (the other 3 contenders 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 World Cups and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were given a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout phase for the very first time after 8 prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor 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 understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their familiar cautious mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their squad lacks clear stars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third phase 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

After back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive style has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, 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, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control 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 clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more reliable player with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by topping a straightforward qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it 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 stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring 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 reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the world 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 the All Whites, who cruised through qualifying, 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. Iran, who were defeated once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly