For some of Africa's World Cup qualifiers, the draw ceremony in Washington DC last Friday must have felt like a walk down memory lane of unforgettable tournament showdowns past, while the continent's hopes of having an unprecedented three teams in the knockouts are firmly on course after an encouraging draw.
Here are the big talking points and the subplots to watch for Africa's teams as they head to the World Cup in North America, as things truly start getting real for the tournament hopefuls.
South Africa to meet Mexico again
There was a beautiful symmetry when Bafana Bafana were drawn into Group A, where they will meet tournament hosts Mexico in the competition's opener.
Back in 2010, in the only edition hosted on African soil, South Africa and Mexico faced each other in Soccer City, Johannesburg to launch the tournament.
Siphiwe Tshabalala lashing home after 55 minutes -- in a strike infamously celebrated by commentator Peter Drury as being "a goal for all of Africa" -- remains surely South Africa's greatest moment across their three tournament appearances as, for the most fleeting, magical instant, the Rainbow Nation felt truly unified.
Mexico ultimately equalised through Rafael Marquez, as South Africa became the first tournament hosts to fall in the opening round, but it's a fixture that still carries evocative memories for the regional heavyweights.
So 16 years later, the shoe will be on the other foot, as Mexico will have the opportunity to play hosts in the tournament curtain-jerker, as they will kick off the 2026 edition at the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
While Los Tri will be the favourites, Hugo Broos's boys may feel they can take revenge on the side who rained on their parade back in 2010, the last meeting between the pair.
Either way, kicking off the biggest World Cup ever, against a beatable opponent, in one of world football's truly great cathedrals, is a golden opportunity for Bafana Bafana to write another chapter every bit as glorious as Tshabalala's emphatic finish all those years ago.
Senegal are not David to France's Goliath anymore
There aren't too many African World Cup moments more iconic than that Tshabalala goal, but one of them, surely, is Senegal's victory over France at the 2002 edition in Seoul.
This was one of the most unforgettable matches in the history of the tournament, and certainly one of the greatest upsets of all time, as Senegal -- making their first ever World Cup appearance -- defeated reigning world and European champions France in the opening match.
Bruno Metsu's side were relative unknowns, but the late Papa Bouba Diop's scruffy 30th-minute opener firmly put Senegal on the map, sending the Teranga Lions on their way to the quarterfinals, while France were condemned to an ignominious first round exit.
It remains the defining moment in Senegalese football history, eclipsing their first Africa Cup of Nations final earlier that year, or even their maiden victory in the tournament as they saw off Egypt in Yaounde in 2022.
The colonial history between the two countries, and the fact that all but two of the Senegal squad at the '02 World Cup played their club football in France added to the intricate dimensions of that heady encounter.
Now, 23 years on, and the world has changed for both. France have added another star to their blue jersey, while also reaching the last final in Qatar, as Senegal have become African champions, returned to the knockouts in 2022 and have qualified for three World Cups in a row.
Once a team full of players largely unfamiliar to casual football fans, Senegalese stars have become mainstays in the Premier League over the last two decades, with Sadio Mané in particular reaching three Champions League finals and twice being named African Footballer of the Year.
The reunion between the two countries, the first meeting since 2002, should be an unmissable affair, with a healthy dose of nostalgia.
"Obviously, there's a motivation on Senegal's side," France head coach Didier Deschamps told journalists after the draw. "As always when an African team plays France, there's an extra dimension.
"Many Senegalese players were born in France or played for us," he added. "Playing Senegal again more than 20 years later is bound to be special."
Sam Ogunleye and Ed Dove discuss the strength of Morocco's squad as well as the potential to defeat group favourites Brazil.
Morocco set for Brazil blockbuster
Arguably the other standout fixture of the opening round is Morocco's meeting with Brazil in their Group C opener on June 13. There were audible gasps in the Kennedy Center when the Atlas Lions were drawn into the Selecao's group, and this fixture represents a compelling fixture for both parties.
Of course, it's a rematch from the 1998 World Cup -- and one of the most vivid World Cup groups in the tournament's history -- as Brazil and Morocco were joined by Scotland, who they will again face here, and Norway.
On that occasion, the Atlas Lions were dispatched 3-0 by Brazil in Nantes, but won over many neutrals with a 3-0 evisceration of Scotland a week later.
Now, they're a different prospect, ranked 11th in the world ahead of the draw, and not too far removed from a run to the semifinal -- the first ever African team to reach this stage -- at the last World Cup.
Brazil aren't quite as complete and star-studded as they were back then, while Morocco are in fine fettle under Walid Regraoui, with African Footballer of the Year Achraf Hakimi the standout player in a well organised, but menacing outfit.
They'll relish the prospect of testing themselves against Brazil, who retain a certain romantic, idealised identity on African soil for all that they've contributed to the sport, what they have represented in football, the style and the substance, and their historical clout.
Regragui summed up the mood of his compatriots to Brazilian source Globo: "Playing against Brazil is a dream for us all. It's an honour. For us, Brazil is the country of football.
"We greatly respect the Selecao, but we will look them in the eye, and it will be a great game"
The presence of Haiti -- an eminently beatable team -- coming from Pot Four, mean that Morocco can truly give it a go against Carlo Ancelotti's side in their opener, knowing that, even in defeat, they should still be well placed to progress.
Ed Dove discusses the influence Mo Salah could have on Egypt's World Cup ambitions as they are drawn against Belgium, Iran and New Zealand.
Salah's final hurrah?
Back in 2018, Mohamed Salah appeared primed to take the World Cup by storm. He'd been inspirational during qualification, helping the Pharaohs return to the competition for the first time since 1990 by almost single-handedly dragging them to Russia, and was entering the tournament on the back of a remarkable season for Liverpool in which he'd bagged 32 goals in 36 Premier League appearances.
But disaster struck in the Champions League final, as a brutal, reckless Sergio Ramos foul left Salah with a shoulder injury that ultimately condemned him to being a shadow of himself at the World Cup.
The tournament passed him by and, despite a favourable group-stage draw, Egypt were eliminated in the first round. Now, Salah gets a second chance.
Older, wiser, not as explosive as he once was, and firmly at a crossroads at Anfield, the 33-year-old still has a lot to offer and, her a player for the big occasion, will be desperate to leave his mark on the tournament.
The group stage should afford him at least three matches; Iran and New Zealand cannot match the Pharaohs for firepower, while a Belgium team on the wane are not the ominous prospect they once were.
Egypt, certainly, can be quietly confident of reaching the knockouts for the first time since 1934.
Ghana manager Otto Addo discusses his side's fate after being drawn against Panama, England and Croatia.
Black Stars eyeing major victory
Group L brings with it a first competitive fixture between England and Ghana, in a match that should have something of a derby feel to it given the plethora of players with extensive Premier League experience from both sides.
Neither side will be too happy with the draw, given the presence of Croatia and Panama as well, but while England will rue the presence of one of the most talented Pot Four sides in Ghana, the Black Stars may smell opportunity.
The chance to face up to a genuine heavyweight, a former winner, and of course, a country against whom Ghana has a considerable, specific history, represents a golden opportunity for Otto Addo's side to do something unforgettable, and make up for this year's horrific failure to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations.
In Mohammed Kudus, Iñaki Williams, Jordan Ayew, Antoine Semenyo and Kamaldeen Sulemana, there's no shortage of attacking talent, and if the Black Stars can remain resolute, then they could well wound England on the counter attack.
Cape Verde... look away now
While many African nations will be happy with the way fortune has smiled on them during the draw, including Algeria and the Ivory Coast, both of whom have reasons for optimism, the same cannot be said for Cape Verde.
The islanders are set for their maiden World Cup showing, as they become the third smallest nation ever to grace the grandest stage of all, but don't expect the fairytale to last much longer than the opening whistle of their first match.
That's because poor Cape Verde will open their campaign -- the country's first ever World Cup game, their first ever competitive match off African soil -- with a foreboding clash with tournament favourites Spain.
After that will come a meeting with Uruguay, gritty, uncompromising, and unlikely to have their heartstrings tugged at by the romance of the minnows' first foray into the big bad world of international football beyond Africa.
While Saudi Arabia appear more vulnerable, their head coach, Herve Renard, is a true scholar of the African game, and will have no hesitation in bringing the Sharks straight back down to earth.
Africa's groups
Group A: Mexico, South Africa, Korea Republic, UEFA Playoff D (Republic of Ireland, Denmark, North Macedonia, Czechia)
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
Group E: Germany, Curacao, Cote d'Ivoire, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, UEFA Playoff B (Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, Albania), Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, Inter-confederation Playoff 2 (Bolivia, Iraq, Suriname)
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Uzbekistan, Colombia, Inter-confederation Playoff 1 (DR Congo, New Caledonia, Jamaica)
Group L: England, Croatia, Ghana, Panama