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Group A

This first fixture at the famous Azteca Stadium will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide showpiece features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third last-eight berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended player.

It will represent Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying section. The fourth team 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

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best group of players in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw appears depends largely on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 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 past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal 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 limited away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that included a run of three successive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, capable 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 state, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar defensive mindset has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their squad lacks obvious stars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's fourth team will come from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While 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, let in a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always appears a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth 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 phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight World Cup berth by dominating a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as some past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers 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 rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils 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 conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily 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 golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially