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Pool A

This initial match at the historic Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination stage record at the global showpiece includes 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 aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

It will mark South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them without a loss through a far from easy qualification section. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden 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 looks hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the initial phase in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists 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, have individuals aiming to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were handed a major advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth 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 return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination phase for the first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that featured a run of three consecutive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, 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 thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad is without obvious stars, but despite an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's final team will come from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has brought 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 netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more effective performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will play in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (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 executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy 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 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 failed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential 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 meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, 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 once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, potentially