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Pool A

This opening fixture at the famous Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination stage record at the worldwide tournament includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended player.

It will represent South Korea's 11th successive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group appears hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the European playoff (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification group, were given a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout stage for the very first time after eight prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate 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 involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Pool D

Early 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious mindset has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster is without obvious superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating 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 the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. While 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.

Ivory Coast live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

The smallest country ever to qualify, the Curaçao team, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot far 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 unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent 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 history, but having failed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualification, 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. Iran, who were defeated only once in a tricky third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially