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Pool A

This first fixture at the historic Azteca venue will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the global showpiece features just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh straight World Cup qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification section. The final side 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

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group looks hinges mostly on whether Italy progress through the UEFA playoff (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following 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 groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were given a major advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout phase for the very first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Group D

Early 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 ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark defensive mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their squad lacks obvious stars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, 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 victor of the European 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 shift to a more attacking style has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it might have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more effective player with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a rematch of the group 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 golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals freely at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African football history, but having failed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 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 lost once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially