Team-by-Team Breakdown for the Upcoming World Cup

Group A

This first match at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's elimination stage history at the global tournament features just a single victory, secured against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their first finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible footballer.

It will represent South Korea's 11th successive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification group. The fourth side in Group A will be the victor 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 bring their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best squad in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the group appears depends mostly on whether Italy make it through the UEFA 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 qualified unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players hoping to play at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification section, were given a significant advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland's return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous outing, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after 8 previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats than for the fate that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three successive losses, but there is little risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African nations, able both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a perfect win record.

Pool 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 defeated 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 statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a quarter-final place. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australian side and their roster lacks clear stars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two matches. The group’s final team will come from the victor of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, finishing in second place behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted 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 live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the golden generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control 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 ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.

The tiniest country ever to qualify, the Curaçao team, were the final team drawn, though, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it might have been.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, always appears a more effective performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth consecutive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian nations 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 consecutive World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps 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 play-off (against Ukraine in the semi, 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 executed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

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

Egypt are the most decorated side in African football history, but having failed to reach the finals during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defence that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, 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 were defeated once in a tricky third phase qualification group, are on a list of restricted nations, possibly