Group-by-Group Preview for the Upcoming Finals

Group A

This first game at the historic Azteca Stadium will mirror the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. The Mexican team's elimination phase history at the global tournament features just one win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be aiming for a third-ever quarter-final appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, ending above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for using an suspended player.

It will represent Korea Republic's 11th successive finals appearance. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player award when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification section. 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

Canada have made it for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the group appears hinges mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the European 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 tournaments and were last-eight participants at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualification section, were given a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final round and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected entirely from the Qatari league.

Group C

Scotland return to the finals in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to progress to the elimination stage for the first time after eight prior group-stage exits. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the ordeal that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to a travel ban from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third manager in a qualification campaign that included a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming opponents 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 poor condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendly matches. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing 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 appearance. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't altered: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australian side and their squad lacks clear stars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third phase 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 winner of the European playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group-stage exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more progressive style has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although 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 mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team drawn, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it could have been.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualifying, consistently looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will play in their eighth successive finals, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia secured of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by dominating a manageable qualification group, picking up 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as dour as certain previous Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European play-off (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 performed the iconic Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs 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 conceding 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 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 undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania essentially equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualifying, winning five games out of five, netting 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest FIFA-ranked side to have booked their place in North America next summer. Iran, who lost once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, potentially