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Pool A

This opening fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the worldwide tournament includes just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will mark South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He 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 UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach 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. How kind the draw looks hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were given a major boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate 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 traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that included a run of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight place. Their familiar defensive mindset hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster is without obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th consecutive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European 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 performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, 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 not managed to qualify during their golden 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 unbeaten.

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, 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. Iran, who lost once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a travel ban, possibly