🔗 Share this article

Pool A

This initial fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when South Africa tied 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's knockout phase record at the global showpiece includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

This will mark Korea Republic's 11th successive finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualification section. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the most talented squad 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 the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last 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 aiming to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a significant advantage by being selected as a host for the final round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses 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 travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that featured a run of three successive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, 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 friendly matches. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a record that has led to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster lacks obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following successive group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking style has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their 8th consecutive 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 combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by dominating a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals easily 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 not managed to qualify during their golden 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 conceded only twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant 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 only once in a tricky third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, potentially