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Group A

This opening game at the historic Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination stage record at the global showpiece features just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third last-eight berth as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will represent South Korea's 11th successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualification section. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not bring 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. The extent to which favorable the draw looks depends mostly on whether Italy make it through the European play-off (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the initial phase in four of the last 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 easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a major advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout stage for the first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their familiar defensive mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their squad lacks clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool'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-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive style has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although 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, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden squad 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 implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without none.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it could have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different 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 rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African history, but having failed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to 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 lost once in a difficult third phase qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly