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Pool A

This initial game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the worldwide tournament includes just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended player.

This will represent Korea Republic's 11th consecutive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from easy qualification section. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not bring their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the most talented squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group looks depends mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualification group, were given a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination stage for the first time after eight prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs 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 process that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. 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-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group 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 friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their squad is without obvious superstars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's final team will come from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as good 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 transformative. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

The smallest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it might have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight World Cup berth by dominating a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 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 stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in 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 reach the finals during their peak 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 conceded only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 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 only once in a tricky third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly