🔗 Share this article

Pool A

This initial match at the famous Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the global tournament features just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third-ever last-eight berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho given against them for using an ineligible footballer.

This will represent South Korea's 11th consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from easy qualifying group. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a UEFA playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 brought their first goal, it did not bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the best squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw appears depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the past five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players aiming to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth phase and secured progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Pool C

Scotland first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after eight previous group phase exits. Haiti’s sole prior World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited traveling support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a clear upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Group D

Early last year, the USA seemed in a dismal condition, losing to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive approach has not altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian team and their roster is without clear stars, but despite an iffy beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two matches. The group’s fourth team will emerge from the victor of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. While they netted only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant declinism, 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 inspirational. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

The smallest 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 been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always appears a more reliable performer with his national side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by some way 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.

Tunisia made sure of a third straight finals appearance by topping a straightforward qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, finding the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also struggling to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African history, but having failed to reach the finals during their peak 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 just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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. Team Melli, who were defeated only once in a tricky third-round qualifying section, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly