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Group A

The initial match at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide tournament features just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third last-eight berth as hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an suspended player.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th straight finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualifying section. The final team in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group looks depends mostly on whether the Italian national team progress through the European play-off (the remaining 3 contenders 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 tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were handed a major advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout phase for the very first time after eight previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a dismal condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive approach hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their roster lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's fourth team will come from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without none.

The smallest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it could have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective performer 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 nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past 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 create a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily at times, but also struggling 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 global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly