🔗 Share this article

Pool A

The initial game at the famous Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout stage record at the worldwide showpiece includes just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third last-eight berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended footballer.

This will mark South Korea's eleventh straight World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification group. The fourth team 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

Canada have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not bring their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the European playoff (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the group stage in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a significant boost by being selected as a host for the final round and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire 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 were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a streak of three successive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 friendly matches. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final appearance. Their familiar defensive mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their squad is without obvious stars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive style has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence including 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 permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more effective performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th successive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, 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 straight World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up 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 their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding the net eight times but letting in 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 decorated side in African 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 defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively 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-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, potentially