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Pool A

The first fixture at the historic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase history at the worldwide showpiece features just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended player.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualification group. The fourth side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded 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 nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw looks depends largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the European playoff (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss 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 unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were given a major boost 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 domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout phase for the very first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. 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 losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a dismal condition, losing 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 seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. 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 approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their squad is without obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including 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 generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the fourth team picked, though, making the group look a lot less daunting than it might have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always looks a more effective player with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a manageable qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as some past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA 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 iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in 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 successful side in African football history, but having failed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, scoring 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 only once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, potentially