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Group A

This opening match at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's elimination stage history at the worldwide showpiece features just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

It will mark Korea Republic's 11th successive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying group. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears hinges mostly on whether Italy progress through the European playoff (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the initial phase in four of the last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals aiming to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification section, were given a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after eight prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal 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 restricted away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, suffering defeats 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 understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group phase eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their familiar defensive mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their squad is without clear stars, but despite an shaky 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 final two matches. The group’s final team will emerge from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, finishing in second place 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 exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers 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 repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African history, but having not managed 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 attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who were defeated only once in a difficult third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially