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Group A

This opening fixture at the historic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination phase history at the global tournament features just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualifying section. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada 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 manager of arguably 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 kind the group appears depends largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans 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-round qualifying section, were handed a major boost by being chosen as a host for the final round and secured qualification 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 World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout phase for the first time after eight prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that included a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA 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 apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious mindset has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

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

Group E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious 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 implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more reliable player with his country's side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their eighth successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 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 rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also laboring 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 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 defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly