Team-by-Team Breakdown for the 2026 Finals

Group A

The initial match at the historic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Mexico. Mexico's knockout stage history at the worldwide showpiece includes just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they last hosted in 1986. The coach, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that team and will be targeting a third last-eight appearance as tournament hosts. The South African side, led by veteran Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, secured their place for their initial finals since hosting, ending above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho awarded against them for using an ineligible player.

This will mark Korea Republic's eleventh consecutive finals qualification. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished in third place in the Golden Ball award when South Korea reached the semi-final in 2002. He is now their coach and led them without a loss through a anything but straightforward qualifying group. 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.

Group B

The Canadian team have qualified for the World Cup on two occasions and, while Qatar 2022 brought their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first finals point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach 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 kind the group looks hinges largely on whether the Italian national team make it through the UEFA playoff (the remaining 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, the Swiss have got through the group stage in four of the last five World Cups and were quarter-finalists at the past two European Championships. Murat Yakin’s side qualified without defeat from arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA groups and, with veterans like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, have players hoping to feature at their fourth World Cups. Qatar, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualifying group, were handed a major advantage by being chosen as a tournament host for the final phase and secured qualification with a 2-1 win over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is selected entirely from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they lost to the Seleção and the Atlas Lions; the Haitian team occupy the spot of Norway. Their aim will be to progress to the elimination stage for the very first time after eight prior group-stage eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three defeats than for the fate that befell midfielder Ernst Jean-Joseph who, after failing a doping test, was beaten by Haitian army officers before being sent back. They will have limited away support due to travel restrictions from the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti became 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 noticeable upturn in form. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of overwhelming opponents and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a 100% record.

Pool D

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 friendly matches. But over the last year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his message across and in November the USA defeated Paraguay before routing Uruguay 5-1 in exhibition games. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have secured one game at each of the prior five, a record that has resulted to both group phase exits and a last-eight place. 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 free-flowing Australian side and their squad is without obvious stars, but in spite of an iffy start to the third phase of Asian qualification, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under intense pressure in their final two matches. The pool's fourth team will emerge from the winner of the European Play-off C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group phase exits, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking style has introduced a fragility and the draw initially looked like posing a massive test to Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Ecuador were the revelations of qualifying, ending up second behind Argentina in South America. Although they netted 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, let in a mere five.

Ivory Coast live in a state of constant declinism, where nothing is ever quite good 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 inspirational. Following an implausible continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were ruthless in qualification, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

The tiniest country ever to reach the finals, the Curaçao team, were the final team picked, though, making the group look a lot less daunting than it could have appeared.

Group F

Ronald Koeman’s Dutch side maybe lack the star quality of past Dutch eras, but they qualified unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who bagged eight goals in qualification, consistently appears a more reliable performer with his country's side than at club level. They begin against the Japanese team, who will participate in their eighth successive finals, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian sides in qualification, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a total goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side secured of a third consecutive World Cup berth by topping a manageable qualification group, accumulating 28 points of a possible 30. Sami Trabelsi’s team are perhaps not as defensive as some past Tunisian teams; they had a remarkable 14 separate scorers in qualifying. If Graham Potter’s Sweden progress through the European playoff (against Ukraine in the semi, 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 executed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Group G

Belgium and the Pharaohs are moving on from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding the net eight times but conceding five in two wins over Wales, scoring easily 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 reach the finals during their peak period 15-20 years ago, they have never fully done themselves justice on the global stage. Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush give them cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded only twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified unbeaten.

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, 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 lost once in a tricky third-round qualification section, are on a list of restricted nations, potentially