Team-by-Team Preview for the 2026 World Cup

Pool A

The initial fixture at the iconic Azteca venue will echo the first game from 2010, when South Africa drew 1-1 with El Tri. Mexico's elimination phase record at the global tournament features just one win, secured against Bulgaria when they previously hosted in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, played as an attacker in that squad and will be targeting a third-ever quarter-final berth as hosts. South Africa, coached by experienced Belgian tactician Hugo Broos, qualified for their initial finals since they hosted, finishing above Nigeria and Benin despite seeing a win over Lesotho given against them for fielding an suspended footballer.

It will mark South Korea's 11th consecutive World Cup appearance. Icon Hong Myung-bo played in four of those, and finished third in the Best Player voting when South Korea made the last four in 2002. Hong is now their manager and guided 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 involving the Czech Republic, Denmark, North Macedonia, or the Republic of Ireland.

Group B

Canada have qualified for the World Cup twice and, although Qatar 2022 yielded their first finals goal, it did not deliver their first point. Jesse Marsch is the head coach of probably the best squad in their nation's history, with key men like Jonathan David at Juventus and Alphonso Davies at Bayern Munich. The extent to which favorable the group looks hinges largely on whether Italy progress through the UEFA play-off (the other 3 contenders are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Wales).

After failing to qualify in 1998 and 2002, Switzerland have navigated the group stage 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 arguably the most straightforward of the UEFA qualifying groups and, with experienced campaigners like Ricardo Rodriguez and Granit Xhaka, boast individuals hoping to feature at their fourth finals. The Qatari team, having finished in fourth in their third phase qualification section, were handed a significant boost by being selected as a tournament host for the final round and clinched qualification with a 2-1 victory over the UAE. Julen Lopetegui’s squad is drawn exclusively from the domestic league.

Group C

Scotland first World Cup in 28 years bears a lot like their last appearance, when they were defeated to Brazil and Morocco; the Haitian team occupy the place of Norway. Their aim will be to make it to the elimination phase for the very first time after 8 previous group phase eliminations. Haiti’s only previous World Cup, in 1974, was remembered less for their three losses 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 travel restrictions involving the USA.

Carlo Ancelotti took over as Brazil’s third coach in a qualifying process that featured a run of three consecutive defeats, but there is little jeopardy in South American qualification these days. He has presided over a noticeable improvement. Last-four participants in Qatar in 2022, Morocco look the best of the north African sides, able both of dominating rivals and playing on the counter, securing qualification with a perfect win 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 friendlies. But over the past year, Mauricio Pochettino has apparently begun to get his ideas across and in November the USA beat Paraguay before thrashing Uruguay 5-1 in friendlies. They will start against Paraguay, who are competing in their sixth finals. They have won one game at each of the previous five, a statistic that has led to both group-stage exits and a quarter-final appearance. Their trademark cautious mindset has not changed: they managed only 14 goals in their 18 games in South American qualification.

This is not the most free-flowing Australia team and their squad is without obvious stars, but despite an shaky start to the third round of Asian qualifying, Tony Popovic’s side qualified by defeating Japan at home and Saudi Arabia away under immense pressure in their final two matches. The group’s final team will come from the victor of Europe’s playoff C (Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia, or Turkey).

Group E

Following successive group phase eliminations, Germany are no longer the bogeymen of old. The transition to a more attacking philosophy has brought a vulnerability and the group 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 backline featuring Willian Pacho of Paris Saint-Germain and Piero Hincapié of Arsenal, shielded by Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo, conceded a mere five.

Côte d’Ivoire live in a state of permanent declinism, where nothing is ever quite good 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 transformative. After an improbable continental success on home soil, Côte d’Ivoire were clinical in qualifying, netting 25 goals and conceding reply.

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

Pool F

Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands side perhaps lack the star quality of previous Dutch eras, but they secured qualification unbeaten and Memphis Depay, who scored eight goals in qualification, consistently looks a more reliable player with his country's side than at domestic level. They open against Japan, who will play in their 8th consecutive World Cup, and were by far the most impressive of the Asian nations in qualifying, suffering one of their 16 games over the two groups, with a combined goal difference of 54-3.

The Tunisian side made sure of a third consecutive finals appearance by dominating a manageable qualifying group, accumulating 28 points of a available 30. Sami Trabelsi’s squad are maybe not as defensive as certain past Tunisian sides; they had a remarkable 14 separate goalscorers 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 repeat of the group game in Dortmund in 1974 when Johan Cruyff first performed the famous Cruyff Turn.

Pool G

The Belgian Red Devils and the Pharaohs are emerging from the legacy of golden generations. Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were inconsistent in qualifying, finding 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 decorated side in African football history, but having failed to qualify 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 cutting edge, but it was a defensive unit that conceded just twice in 10 games that ensured they qualified undefeated.

A guaranteed place for Oceania effectively meant 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. Iran, who were defeated only once in a difficult third phase qualifying group, are on a travel ban, potentially