🔗 Share this article

Group A

This opening match at the historic Azteca Stadium will replay the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the worldwide showpiece features just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third last-eight berth as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

It will mark Korea Republic's 11th straight World Cup appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came third in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualification section. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor of a European qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably 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 group looks hinges largely on whether Italy progress through the UEFA playoff (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through 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 booked their ticket unbeaten from probably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout stage for the first time after 8 prior group phase exits. 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 failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that included a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a perfect record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor state, losing 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 seemingly begun to get his message across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their squad is without obvious stars, but despite an shaky start 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 fourth team will come from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After successive group-stage exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the group initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline featuring 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 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 improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable player with his national side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their 8th consecutive finals, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering 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 finals appearance by dominating a straightforward qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as some previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European play-off (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 executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having not managed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised 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. Iran, who were defeated once in a difficult third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly