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Group A

The first fixture at the historic Azteca venue will replay the opener from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination stage record at the worldwide showpiece features just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended player.

This will mark Korea Republic's 11th straight finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualification group. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best 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 draw looks hinges largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA playoff (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

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

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, 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 seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar defensive mindset has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

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

Group E

Following back-to-back group phase exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive style has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, ending up in second place 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, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a rematch 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 the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding 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 successful side in African history, but having failed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to 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-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a tricky third-round qualification section, are on a travel ban, possibly