South Africa last played in a FIFA World Cup in 2010, when the country hosted the tournament. They drew with Mexico in the opening match and famously beat France 2-1, but lost 3-0 to Uruguay and failed to reach the knockout stage.

The draw for the expanded 48-team tournament was hugely complicated, with six berths still to be filled via a series of playoffs. South Africa and Mexico are both in Group A, together with Korea Republic and the winner of the European play-off D. 

In a major change to the draw, the top four nations in the FIFA world rankings – Spain, Argentina, France and England – have been awarded special seedings which ensure they cannot meet until the semi-finals, assuming each wins their group.

The top two teams in each group will qualify for the knockout stages, along with the eight best third-placed teams.

Where and when each nation will play their matches will be confirmed in a separate draw on Saturday.

The other groups are:

Group B:

Canada

European Play-Off A

Qatar

Switzerland

Group C:

Brazil

Morocco

Haiti

Scotland

Group D:

USA

Paraguay

Australia

European Play-Off C

Group E:

Germany

Curaçao

Côte d’Ivoire

Ecuador

Group F:

Netherlands

Japan

European Play-Off B

Tunisia

Group G:

Belgium

Egypt

IR Iran

New Zealand

Group H:

Spain

Cabo Verde

Saudi Arabia

Uruguay

Group I:

France

Senegal

FIFA Play-Off Tournament 2

Norway

Group J:

Argentina

Algeria

Austria

Jordan

Group K:

Portugal

FIFA Play-Off Tournament 1

Uzbekistan

Colombia

Group L:

England

Croatia

Ghana

Panama

 OFM Sport/Ilse Smalberger dg