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Group A

This opening game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination stage history at the global showpiece features just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will mark Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears depends largely on whether Italy progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the group stage in four of the past five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a major advantage 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 squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight previous group-stage eliminations. 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 drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that included a streak of three successive defeats, 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 best of the north African nations, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% 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 apparently begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group-stage exits and a last-eight place. Their trademark defensive mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia team and their roster is without clear stars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The pool's final team will come from the winner 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 bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring 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 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 inspirational. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European 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 performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding 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 football history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their peak 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 defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly