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Group A

The opening match at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout phase record at the worldwide showpiece features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight berth as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

It will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight World Cup qualification. 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 coach and guided them unbeaten through a far from easy qualifying group. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw looks hinges largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the last five World Cups 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 veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the final phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after eight previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a poor state, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their squad is without obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful 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 transformative. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a manageable qualifying 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 scorers in qualifying. 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 rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the global 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 unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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 travel ban, possibly