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Group A

This first match at the historic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide showpiece includes just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from easy qualifying section. The fourth side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group appears hinges largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the European play-off (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified unbeaten from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification section, were given a major boost by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that included a run of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a dismal 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 understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase exits and a last-eight place. Their familiar defensive approach has not altered: 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 superstars, 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 immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted 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 mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as successful 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 transformative. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more effective performer with his national side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th consecutive finals, 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 secured of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain previous 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, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium 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 letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely 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 not managed 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 cutting edge, 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-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost once in a tricky third phase qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially