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Group A

The initial fixture at the famous Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide showpiece features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended footballer.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from easy qualifying section. 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.

Group B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the group appears depends largely on whether Italy progress through the European play-off (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were handed a major boost by being chosen as a host for the fourth phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti 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 phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, 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 drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that featured a streak of three successive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

Early 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 understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive approach hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their roster is without clear stars, but despite an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, finishing second 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, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control 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, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always looks a more effective performer with his national side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having failed to reach the finals 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 attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who sailed through qualifying, 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly