Team-by-Team Breakdown for the Forthcoming Finals
Group A
The first match at the famous Azteca Stadium will mirror the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana tied 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination phase history at the worldwide tournament includes just a single victory, achieved against Bulgaria when they last were hosts in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third last-eight appearance as hosts. The South African side, led by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.
It will mark South Korea's eleventh straight finals qualification. Legend Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Best Player voting when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their manager and guided them unbeaten through a anything but easy qualifying section. The final team in Group A will be the victor of a European playoff featuring the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.
Group B
The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not bring their first-ever point. Jesse Marsch is the manager of arguably the most talented group of players in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How kind the draw appears hinges largely on whether Italy make it through the European play-off (the other 3 teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).
Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the initial phase in four of the past five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from probably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have individuals hoping to feature at their fourth finals. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualifying section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and clinched progress with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.
Pool C
Scotland return to the World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their previous appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; Haiti take the spot of Norway. Their primary objective will be to make it to the knockout phase for the very first time after eight previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a drugs test, was beaten 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 manager in a qualifying process that included a run of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable upturn in form. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African nations, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a 100% win record.
Pool D
Early last year, the USA seemed in a poor 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 apparently begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will begin against the Paraguayan side, who are playing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group phase exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.
This is not the most fluent Australia team and their squad lacks clear 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 immense pressure in their final two matches. The group’s final team will emerge from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).
Group E
After back-to-back group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The shift to a more attacking style has introduced a fragility and the group initially looked like presenting a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualification, finishing second behind Argentina in South America. Although they scored only 14 goals in 18 games, a defence featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.
Ivory Coast live in a state of constant pessimism, where nothing is ever as 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 implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, scoring 25 goals and conceding none.
The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the final team picked, however, making the group look a lot far less intimidating than it might have appeared.
Pool F
Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe do not possess the star quality of past Dutch generations, but they secured qualification unbeaten 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 consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games across the two phases, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.
The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by topping a manageable qualification section, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a staggering 14 separate goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the UEFA play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, 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 erratic in qualifying, finding 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 decorated side in African history, but having not managed 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 defence that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.
A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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 were defeated only once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially
