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Group A

The opening game at the iconic Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout phase record at the worldwide showpiece includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh successive finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented group of players in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European playoff (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualification group, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination phase for the first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a streak of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy 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 sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, suffering defeats 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 understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia side and their squad lacks clear stars, but despite an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s final team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup berth by dominating a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different 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 rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football history, but having failed 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 attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant 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-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially