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Group A

This initial fixture 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 history at the global tournament includes just a single 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 tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended player.

It will represent Korea Republic's eleventh successive World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualifying group. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the draw appears hinges largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the European play-off (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the group stage 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 probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualifying section, were handed a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after eight previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying process that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their squad lacks clear stars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The group’s fourth team will come from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive style has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted 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 exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, 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 Dutch side maybe lack the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more reliable performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as some past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers 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 create a repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only 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 cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 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 lost once in a difficult third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, potentially