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Group A

This first match at the iconic Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout stage record at the worldwide tournament features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted 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 hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th consecutive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualification section. The final team in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw appears depends 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 initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after 8 previous group phase exits. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal 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 limited traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of 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 friendlies. But over the past 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 competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster lacks clear stars, but despite an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The pool's fourth team will come from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following back-to-back group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team 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 backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more effective player with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals berth by topping a straightforward qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as some past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. 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 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, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also laboring 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 golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, scoring 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 difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly