🔗 Share this article

Pool A

This opening fixture at the historic Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout stage record at the global showpiece features 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-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball 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 easy qualifying section. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA 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 brought their first finals goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw looks hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the last five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third-round qualifying group, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; the Haitian team take the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the knockout stage for the very first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses 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 deported. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification process 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. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% win record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, losing 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 ideas understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has led to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive mindset hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their roster is without clear stars, but in spite of an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The pool'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 bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, finishing in second place 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, let in a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire 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 transformative. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding none.

The tiniest country ever to qualify, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team picked, however, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it might have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective player with his national side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth successive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive finals berth by dominating a straightforward qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, 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 famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow 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, finding goals easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having failed to reach the finals 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 cutting edge, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, 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 difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially