The initial fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will replay the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's elimination phase record at the global showpiece includes just one victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they previously were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that team and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian manager Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin even after seeing a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an suspended player.
It will represent Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and led them unbeaten through a far from straightforward qualification section. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.
Canada have qualified for the global finals twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the most talented group of players in their nation's history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw looks depends largely on whether the Italian national team progress through the UEFA play-off (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).
Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified 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 feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third-round qualification section, were given a significant boost by being chosen as a host for the final round and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the Qatari league.
Scotland first World Cup in 28 years looks a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the first time after 8 prior group phase exits. Haiti’s sole previous finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a drugs test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being deported. They will have restricted traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.
Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying campaign that featured a streak of three successive defeats, 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 look the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming rivals and playing on the counter-attack, securing qualification with a 100% record.
At the start of last year, the USA seemed in a poor condition, losing 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 apparently begun to get his message understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their 6th finals. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage eliminations and a quarter-final place. Their familiar cautious mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualifying.
This is not the most fluent Australian side and their squad lacks obvious superstars, but in spite of an shaky beginning to the third phase of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side made it by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's final team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).
After successive group phase exits, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. While they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a backline including Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.
Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite successful as the golden squad of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. Following an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals without reply.
The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, Curaçao, were the final team picked, though, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it could have appeared.
Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe lack the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always appears a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will participate in their 8th successive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.
The Tunisian side made sure of a third straight World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are maybe not as defensive as some past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate scorers 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 set up a repeat of the group stage game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first executed the famous Cruyff Turn.
The Belgian Red Devils 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 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 football history, but having failed to reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential 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 undefeated.
A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively equated to a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualifying, winning five games out of five, scoring 29 goals, nine of them by Chris Wood, but they are the lowest FIFA-ranked side to have secured their place in North America next summer. Iran, who were defeated only once in a difficult third-round qualifying section, are on a travel ban, potentially
Elara is a seasoned writer and digital storyteller with a passion for exploring diverse literary genres and empowering others through words.
