Group-by-Group Analysis for the Upcoming Finals

Pool A

This initial game at the historic Azteca Stadium will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. The Mexican team's elimination stage history at the global tournament features just a single win, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be targeting a third quarter-final appearance as hosts. The South African side, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first finals since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after having a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible footballer.

This will represent Korea Republic's eleventh successive World Cup qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player voting 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 qualification group. The fourth team in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, although Qatar 2022 brought their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first-ever finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented group of players in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw appears depends largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA playoff (the remaining three 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 unbeaten from arguably the easiest of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification group, were handed a significant boost by being chosen as a tournament host for the fourth round and secured qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.

Pool C

Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti occupy the place of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout phase for the first time after 8 previous group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was assaulted by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualifying campaign that featured a run of three successive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the strongest of the north African sides, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect record.

Pool D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a dismal condition, suffering defeats to Panama and Canada in the Concacaf Nations League and to Turkey and Switzerland in friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly 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 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach has not changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster lacks obvious stars, but despite an iffy start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their last two fixtures. The group’s final team will come from the victor of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has introduced a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a huge test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualification, ending up second 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, let in a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist 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 improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, netting 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more effective player with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th successive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third straight 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 certain previous Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (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 famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are moving on from the shadow of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding 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 qualify 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 attacking threat, but it was a defence that conceded just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified unbeaten.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant 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. Iran, who lost only once in a difficult third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially