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Pool A

This first fixture at the historic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the worldwide showpiece features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but 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.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group appears depends largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were given a major boost by being chosen as a host for the final phase and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that included a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster is without clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy beginning 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 last two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador 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 defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will play in their 8th successive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate scorers in qualification. 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 create a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are emerging from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, 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 successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify 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 allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who were defeated only once in a tricky third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly