Team-by-Team Analysis for the Forthcoming World Cup

Pool A

The initial game at the famous Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout stage history at the global showpiece features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be aiming for a third quarter-final appearance as hosts. South Africa, coached by veteran Belgian manager Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho given against them for fielding an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh straight World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo featured in four of those, and came in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea made the last four in 2002. He is now their manager and led them without a loss through a far from easy qualifying 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.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the World Cup twice and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their first goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best squad in their history, with stars like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. How favorable the draw appears depends largely on whether Italy progress through the UEFA play-off (the other three contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have navigated the initial phase in four of the last five tournaments and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to play at their fourth World Cups. The Qatari team, having ended up fourth in their third phase qualification group, were handed a significant advantage by being chosen as a host for the fourth round and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s entire squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first finals in 28 years looks a lot like their previous appearance, when they were defeated to the Seleção and Morocco; Haiti take the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the knockout stage for the first time after 8 previous group-stage exits. Haiti’s sole prior finals, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited traveling support due to travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third manager in a qualification process that included a streak of three successive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualifying these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the strongest of the north African sides, capable both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% win record.

Pool D

At the start of 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 seemingly begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against the Paraguayan side, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark defensive approach has not 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 roster lacks obvious superstars, but in spite of an shaky start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their last two matches. The group’s final team will come from the winner of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Pool E

After back-to-back group phase exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more progressive philosophy has brought a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a huge challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the surprise package of qualifying, ending up in second place 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.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent pessimism, where nothing is ever as successful as the glorious squad of 15-20 years ago. But since taking charge during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, manager Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an improbable continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.

The smallest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the fourth team picked, however, making the group look a lot less daunting than it might have appeared.

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side perhaps do not possess the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they secured qualification without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more effective performer with his country's side than at domestic level. They begin against Japan, who will play in their 8th successive finals, and were by some way the most dominant of the Asian sides in qualification, losing one of their 16 games across the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

Tunisia made sure of a third consecutive World Cup berth by dominating a manageable qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are perhaps not as defensive as certain past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 different goalscorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden make it through the European play-off (against Ukraine in the semi-final, then either Poland or Albania in the final), that will set up a rematch of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

Belgium and Egypt are moving on from the shadow of their most talented 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 history, but having failed to qualify during their golden period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite fulfilled their potential on the world stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that meant they qualified undefeated.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for New Zealand, who sailed through qualification, 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 were defeated only once in a difficult third-round qualifying group, are on a travel ban, possibly