World Cup 2026 Group A-D guide: What to expect and players to watch

Raul Jimenez, Vinicius Junior, Alphonso Davies and Christian Pulisic (Picture: Getty)

The early exchanges of the World Cup 2026 will be full of local intrigue, with co-hosts Mexico, Canada and USA competing in three of the first four groups.

The opening game will see Group A favourites Mexico play South Africa in what is a reversal of the World Cup curtain-raiser from 2010, which saw Bafana Bafana take on El Tri in Johannesburg.

Canada will be optimistic of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament for the very first time having been drawn in Group B alongside Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

USA will also be quietly c...