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Group A

This opening fixture at the historic Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout phase history at the worldwide tournament features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

This will mark South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first 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 group appears depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the final phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination stage 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 defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that included a streak of three successive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable improvement. 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, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor 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 ideas understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase exits and a quarter-final place. Their trademark cautious mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia team and their squad lacks obvious superstars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will come from the winner of Europe’s 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 attacking philosophy has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up in second place 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, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden squad 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 reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more effective performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive 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 secured of a third consecutive finals appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it 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 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, scoring the net eight times but conceding 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 fully done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly