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Group A

This first fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination stage history at the global tournament includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible footballer.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh successive 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 last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualification section. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first 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. How kind the draw appears hinges largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining three 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 past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were given a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout stage for the first time after 8 previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only previous 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 drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that featured a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Pool D

Early 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 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 exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark defensive approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad is without clear stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The group’s final team will come from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive style has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by dominating a manageable qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European play-off (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 performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but conceding 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 history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualification, winning five games out of five, scoring 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 only once in a tricky third-round qualification section, are on a travel ban, potentially