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Group A

This first fixture at the famous Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout stage history at the global tournament includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final appearance as hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

It will represent South Korea's 11th straight World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification group. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw looks depends mostly on whether Italy progress through the UEFA playoff (the other 3 teams 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 past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualification group, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout stage for the first time after 8 prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats 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 travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early 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 friendly matches. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia team and their roster lacks obvious stars, but despite an shaky start to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's final team will emerge from the victor 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 bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, finishing 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, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist 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, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team picked, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it could have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always looks a more reliable player with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup berth by dominating a manageable qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are emerging from the legacy 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 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 reach the finals during their golden 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 ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to 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 were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially