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Group A

The opening fixture at the historic Azteca venue will replay the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination stage record at the worldwide showpiece includes just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th straight World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their coach and guided them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification section. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw looks hinges largely on whether Italy progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland 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 booked their ticket 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 chosen as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout stage for the first time after eight prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, 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 apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase exits and a last-eight place. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their roster is without clear superstars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense 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).

Group E

After successive group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although 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 paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

The smallest 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 could have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight finals appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a rematch 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 emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring 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 not managed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that allowed only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who cruised 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. Iran, who were defeated once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly