Defending champions France will be looking to become only the third team - and the first since 1962 - to retain the World Cup crown in Qatar this winter.
Didier Deschamps's men will be favourites to qualify from Group D alongside Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark, while Australia and Tunisia attempt to pull off an upset.
Here, the Sports Mole team set out how they expect Group D to pan out.
1. FRANCE
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In spite of their ongoing injury, tactical and off-field problems, the motivation of defending their World Cup crown should lead to a galvanized France side topping Group D and setting up a last-16 tie with the runners-up of Group C.
Mexico or Poland would seemingly be Les Bleus' most likely opponents in that scenario, and Deschamps's men should progress from that tie with minimal difficulty before a possible showdown with England in the quarter-finals.
England's ongoing woes makes it easy to envisage France coming out on top in that one, and we do not expect a Spain side to stand in their way in the semi-finals either, but meeting favourites Brazil in the final could prove to be their undoing.
2. DENMARK
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Now able to name a deep squad of players regularly performing in Europe's top leagues - a handful of whom have featured in this season's Champions League - Denmark have the resources to qualify for the knockout stages and even contend for Group D's top spot.
Highly-organised and familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses, Kasper Hjulmand has forged a cohesive unit which is flexible enough for the rigours of tournament football.
While they should be confident of advancing to the last 16, if they fail to pip France to first place, a meeting with hotly-tipped Argentina could await - and that may be where their journey ends for a fifth time in the World Cup finals.
3. TUNISIA
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Placed in such a tough group, it is difficult to see Tunisia progressing in place of either France or Denmark, so we expect the North Africans to be fighting it out with Australia for third place.
Nonetheless, given their defensive solidity, with Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri bringing extra steel to a gritty midfield, they certainly will not go down without a fight.
4. AUSTRALIA
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Only two of Australia's 26 players compete in one of Europe's big-five leagues, suggesting Arnold has one hell of a job on his hands to help his nation progress to the knockout rounds for only the second time in their history.
Ultimately, we think they are lacking the individual quality to do so having scraped through qualifying, and we can envisage them finishing bottom of a difficult group.
Barney Corkhill
