🔗 Share this article

Group A

This first game at the historic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout stage history at the global tournament features just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

This will mark South Korea's 11th successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a anything but easy qualifying section. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not bring their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best squad in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group appears hinges mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA play-off (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past 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, boast players aiming to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up in fourth in their third-round qualification group, were given a major advantage by being selected as a host for the final round and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they lost to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout stage for the very first time after 8 prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell 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 manager in a qualification campaign that included a streak of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 friendlies. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are playing in their sixth World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight place. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster is without clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two matches. The pool's final team will emerge from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After 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 posing a massive test 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 featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful 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 implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

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

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps lack the galacticos of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently appears a more effective performer with his national side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will participate in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualification section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. 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 create a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring freely at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated 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 attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just 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 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 lost only once in a difficult third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, potentially