🔗 Share this article

Pool A

This first match at the iconic Azteca Stadium will replay the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination phase history at the global showpiece includes just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight berth as hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible player.

This will represent South Korea's eleventh successive finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and led them without a loss through a anything but easy qualification section. The final 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

Canada have made it for the global finals twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not bring their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the best group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group looks depends mostly on whether Italy progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the initial phase in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination phase for the very first time after 8 previous group phase exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a streak of three consecutive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African sides, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect record.

Pool D

At the start of last year, the USA 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 friendlies. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australian team and their roster is without clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round 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 matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

Following back-to-back group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring 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 constant pessimism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more effective performer with his national side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, 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 consecutive World Cup berth by dominating a straightforward qualifying group, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European 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 iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and Egypt 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 conceding 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 reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice 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 ensured they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, winning five games out of five, scoring 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. Team Melli, who were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially