🔗 Share this article

Group A

This opening fixture at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout stage history at the global showpiece includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final appearance as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended player.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh consecutive finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a far from easy qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group looks depends largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably 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. Qatar, having ended up in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a major advantage by being selected as a host for the final phase and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous outing, 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 knockout phase for the first time after eight previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

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

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal state, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood 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 World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their squad lacks obvious superstars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's final team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, 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 massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, ending up in second place behind Argentina in South America. While they netted 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 declinism, where nothing is ever as good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team drawn, though, making the group look a lot far less daunting than it might have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always looks a more effective player with his country's side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th consecutive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a straightforward qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and Egypt are emerging from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding 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 reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defence that allowed only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly