Group-by-Group Preview for the 2026 Finals

Group A

The initial fixture at the iconic Azteca Stadium will replay the opener from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination stage record at the global showpiece includes just one victory, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. Their coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that squad and will be aiming for a third quarter-final berth as tournament hosts. South Africa, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite having a victory over Lesotho awarded against them for fielding an ineligible footballer.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and came third in the Best Player award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. Hong is now their coach and guided them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualifying section. The final side in Group A will be the victor of a UEFA playoff involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Pool B

The Canadian team have made it for the global finals on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 yielded their maiden goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of arguably the most talented group of players in their history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which kind the group appears depends mostly on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the other three teams are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

Following failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have got through the initial phase in four of the past five World Cups and were last-eight participants at the last two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side booked their ticket unbeaten 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 finished fourth in their third-round qualification group, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final phase and clinched progress with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first finals 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 aim will be to make it to the knockout phase for the first time after 8 prior group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only prior World Cup, in 1974, was notable less for their three losses than for the ordeal that happened to midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after testing positive in a doping test, was beaten 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 coach in a qualification campaign that featured a streak of three consecutive losses, but there is minimal risk in South American qualification these days. He has overseen a clear improvement. Semi-finalists in Qatar in 2022, Morocco appear the best of the north African nations, capable both of dominating opponents and playing on the counter, qualifying with a perfect win record.

Group D

Early last year, the United States seemed in a poor state, suffering defeats 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 seemingly begun to get his ideas understood and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will begin against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth World Cup. They have won one game at each of the prior five, a statistic that has resulted to both group-stage exits and a last-eight appearance. Their trademark cautious approach hasn't altered: they scored only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most fluent Australia side and their roster is without obvious superstars, but in spite of an shaky start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side made it by beating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two fixtures. The pool's final team will come from the winner of Europe’s Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

After back-to-back group-stage eliminations, Die Mannschaft are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the draw initially looked like presenting a massive challenge to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. The Ecuadorian team were the revelations of qualifying, finishing 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, protected by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a paltry five.

Ivory Coast exist in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite good as the glorious generation of 15-20 years ago. But since assuming control during the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, head coach Emerse Faé has proved inspirational. After an implausible continental triumph on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualifying, scoring 25 goals without none.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side maybe do not possess the star quality of previous Dutch generations, but they qualified without losing and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, always looks a more effective performer with his national side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will play in their eighth consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two phases, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third straight finals appearance by topping a manageable qualification section, picking up 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as dour as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 different scorers in qualification. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the UEFA playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, 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.

Group G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of their most talented generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were erratic in qualification, 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 successful side in African history, but having not managed to qualify during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never quite done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them attacking threat, but it was a defensive unit that allowed just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

A reserved place for Oceania essentially meant a spot at the finals for the All Whites, 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. Team Melli, who lost only once in a difficult third-round qualifying section, are on a travel ban, possibly