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Pool A

This opening fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination stage record at the worldwide showpiece features just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will mark Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a anything but straightforward qualifying section. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the group appears depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the initial phase in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout phase for the first time after eight previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell 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 a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a poor state, 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 ideas across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar cautious mindset hasn't altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their roster is without obvious stars, but in spite of an shaky start 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 fixtures. The pool's final team will emerge from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, finishing second 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, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals without reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the final team picked, however, making the group look a lot less daunting than it could have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth successive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, scoring 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 football history, but having failed to reach the finals 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 defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, 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 difficult third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, possibly