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Group A

This opening game at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage history at the worldwide tournament includes just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last 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 tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended player.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive World Cup appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured 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 guided them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualification group. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a European qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 teams 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 last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were handed a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout phase for the first time after eight previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, 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 beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, able 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 condition, 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 defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark defensive mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster lacks clear superstars, but despite an iffy 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 fixtures. The group’s final team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals berth by topping a manageable qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as some past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also struggling 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 quite fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that allowed only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who sailed 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. Team Melli, who were defeated once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly