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Pool A

The first fixture at the famous Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination stage record at the worldwide showpiece features just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from easy qualification section. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group appears depends mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA playoff (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were handed a major boost by being chosen as a host for the final round and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after eight prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, 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 understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their squad is without obvious stars, but despite an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will come from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following back-to-back group phase exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive 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 defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge 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 clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective player with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

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

Egypt are the most successful side in African football history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their golden 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 meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially