🔗 Share this article

Pool A

The opening match at the historic Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide tournament includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive World Cup appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but 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.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best group of players in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw appears hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the other 3 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 last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were handed a significant advantage by being selected as a host for the fourth round and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight previous group phase exits. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. 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 qualifying process that featured a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia side and their squad lacks obvious stars, but in spite of 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 final two matches. The group’s final team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the surprise package of qualification, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While 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 paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious squad 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 ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals without none.

The smallest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the fourth team picked, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it could have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more reliable player with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way 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 secured of a third straight finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA play-off (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.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals 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 qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed 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 once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a travel ban, possibly