Section-by-Section Preview for the Forthcoming Tournament

Group A

The initial fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will echo the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's knockout stage history at the worldwide tournament includes just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

It will mark South Korea's eleventh straight finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a far from straightforward qualifying group. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first 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 history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group looks hinges largely on whether Italy make it through the European play-off (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the group stage in four of the last five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past 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 individuals aiming to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished fourth in their third phase qualification group, were given a major advantage by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal 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 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 losses, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, capable both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group D

At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a dismal state, 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 ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th World Cup. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group phase eliminations and a last-eight place. Their familiar defensive mindset 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 lacks clear superstars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last 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 bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive style has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like posing a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, ending up second 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, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always looks a more effective performer with his national side than at club level. They open against Japan, who will play in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by some way the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third straight World Cup appearance by dominating a manageable qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as some past Tunisian teams; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will create a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool 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, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, finding goals freely at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.

Egypt are the most decorated side in African history, but having failed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, who cruised through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 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 only once in a tricky third phase qualification group, are on a travel ban, potentially