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Group A

The initial match at the historic Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination phase history at the worldwide showpiece features just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and guided them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualifying group. 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 World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group looks hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the remaining three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through 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 booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination stage for the first time after eight previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats 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 deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying 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 overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, 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 seemingly begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat 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 previous five, a record that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their roster is without obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as 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 transformative. After an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more effective performer with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualification group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having failed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit 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 cruised through qualification, 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. Team Melli, who lost once in a difficult third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly