This opening game at the iconic Azteca venue will mirror the opener from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout stage history at the global showpiece features just a single win, secured against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever last-eight appearance as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended player.
It will represent Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and led them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualification section. The fourth team in Group A will be the winner of a European qualifying play-off involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.
Canada have made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 brought their maiden finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of probably the best squad in their nation's history, with key men 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 European playoff (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).
Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the easiest of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast players aiming to play at their fourth finals. Qatar, having ended up fourth in their third-round qualification section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the fourth phase and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is drawn entirely from the Qatari league.
Scotland's first finals in 28 years bears a lot like their last outing, when they were defeated to Brazil and the Atlas Lions; Haiti occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the knockout stage for the first time after eight previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was notable less for their three defeats 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 sent back. They will have restricted away support due to a travel ban from the USA.
Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualification campaign that included a run of three successive defeats, but there is minimal jeopardy in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter-attack, qualifying with a 100% record.
Early 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 last year, Mauricio Pochettino has seemingly 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 playing in their 6th finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their familiar cautious approach hasn't changed: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.
This is not the most fluent Australian side and their roster lacks clear superstars, but despite an shaky beginning to the third round of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating 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 Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).
Following back-to-back group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the feared force of old. The shift to a more attacking philosophy has brought a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team 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 featuring 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 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, head coach Emerse Faé has proved transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.
The tiniest country ever to qualify, Curaçao, were the fourth team drawn, however, making the group look a lot less intimidating than it might have appeared.
Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the galacticos of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualifying, always looks a more effective performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against the Japanese team, who will play in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.
Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive World Cup appearance by topping a manageable qualifying section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as dour as some past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it 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 performed the famous Cruyff Turn.
The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualifying, scoring the net eight times but letting in five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily at times, but also laboring to a 1-1 draw away to Kazakhstan.
Egypt are the most successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite 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 ensured they qualified unbeaten.
A reserved 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 secured their place in North America next summer. Team Melli, who were defeated once in a difficult third-round qualification group, are on a travel ban, potentially
Elara is a financial strategist with over a decade of experience in wealth management and entrepreneurship.
