🔗 Share this article

Group A

The first match at the historic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's knockout phase history at the global showpiece includes just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third last-eight appearance as hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

It will represent South Korea's eleventh successive World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Golden Ball voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualification group. The final side in Group A will be the winner of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

Canada have qualified for the global finals on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the draw appears depends largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the European play-off (the remaining three teams 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 past five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification group, were given a significant advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Group 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 seemingly begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a record that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar defensive approach hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster is without clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy beginning 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 final two fixtures. The group’s fourth team will come from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group phase eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the group initially looked like presenting a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualification, ending up 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, conceded a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire exist in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualification, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more effective performer with his country's side than at club level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a manageable qualifying section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as some previous Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a rematch of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualification, finding the net eight times but conceding 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 successful side in African football history, but having failed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully fulfilled their potential on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania effectively equated to 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 booked their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who lost once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly