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Pool A

This first game at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout stage record at the global showpiece includes just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight berth as hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will represent South Korea's eleventh straight World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. Hong is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have made it for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first 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. How kind the group looks hinges mostly on whether Italy progress through the European play-off (the remaining 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 probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were given a major boost by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that included a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Pool D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a dismal 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 apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight place. Their familiar cautious approach has not altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their roster lacks obvious superstars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live 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 inspirational. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team drawn, though, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it could have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more effective player with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, 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 available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent 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 not managed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who sailed 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 once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly