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Group A

The opening game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout phase record at the global showpiece includes just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final berth as hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended footballer.

This will represent South Korea's eleventh successive World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualification section. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best group of players in their nation's history, with stars 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 progress through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the initial phase in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the most straightforward 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 group, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the first time after eight prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away 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 consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early last year, the United States 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their roster is without clear stars, but in spite of an iffy 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 final two matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted 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, let in a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent 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, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team picked, however, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it could have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more effective player with his national side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their 8th consecutive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight finals appearance by dominating a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. 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 set up a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous 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, scoring 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 failed to qualify 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 defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially 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 FIFA-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly