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Pool A

This opening fixture at the historic Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination phase record at the worldwide tournament includes just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended footballer.

This will mark Korea Republic's 11th successive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a far from easy qualification group. The fourth side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool 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 manager of arguably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group looks hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA playoff (the other three teams 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 last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were handed a major boost by being selected as a host for the fourth phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after eight prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their squad lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group-stage eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, finishing 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, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as 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, scoring 25 goals without reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more reliable player with his national side than at domestic level. They open 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, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated 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 defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who sailed through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially