World Cup TV and streaming schedule on Fox and Telemundo for November 23
Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Canada — for the first time at a men's World Cup since 1986 — take the field in Qatar on Wednesday.
Get ready for the second quadrupleheader of World Cup games in Qatar, with some heavyweights making their tournament debuts: Germany, Spain, Belgium, and 2018 runners-up Croatia. There’s also an intriguing underdog in Japan, and Canada’s first men’s World Cup game since 1986.
Here’s how to watch all the action.
FS1′s coverage window is from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m., then Fox has coverage from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. FS1 has an end of-day studio show at 4 p.m., and the late-night shows are on FS1 at 10:30 p.m. and Fox at midnight. Telemundo’s coverage is nonstop from 4 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and its late studio show is at midnight.
» READ MORE: The TV, radio and live streaming schedule for every game of the World Cup
Group F: Morocco vs. Croatia
Time: 5 a.m.
Venue: Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (Jacqui Oatley on play-by-play with analyst Warren Barton and referee expert Joe Machnik)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo 62, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Jorge Calvo on play-by-play with analysts Sebastián Abreu and Diana Rincón)
FoxSports.com and TelemundoDeportes.com require authentication through participating pay-TV providers. Peacock is NBC and Telemundo’s subscription streaming service. The first 12 games of the World Cup will be available on Peacock’s free tier, then the rest will be behind the subscription paywall.
Fox will have replays of every game for free on its streaming platform Tubi, though it’s not known yet how quickly they’ll be posted.
Betting odds: Morocco +280, Croatia +110, tie +210.
» READ MORE: Why I watch the World Cup ... despite Qatar
Players to watch
Morocco: Hakim Ziyech. The Atlas Lions’ biggest star had a falling-out with previous manager Vahid Halilhodžić, and didn’t play for the national team for a year. It might not have been a coincidence that one of Halilhodžić's last games was the United States’ 3-0 win over Morocco in June. But Ziyech is here now, and that’s what matters. He might have a message to send to his club, too. A winger who Chelsea paid $45 million for two years ago has been a barely-used sub this season.
Croatia: Luka Modrić. There are few better ball-playing central midfielders on the planet than the Real Madrid star. Frankly, there are few better ball-playing players at any position in the sport. But four years after leading his country on an epic run to the World Cup final, he’s now age 37. Has he got one more big World Cup in him?
» READ MORE: Fox’s World Cup coverage won’t address Qatar controversies, but Telemundo does it on opening day
E3. Germany vs. E4. Japan
Time: 8 a.m.
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium, Al Rayyan
English TV/streaming: FS1 and FoxSports.com (Derek Rae on play-by-play with analyst Aly Wagner and referee expert Joe Machnik)
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo 62, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Sammy Sadovnik on play-by-play with analysts Eduardo Biscayart and Mauro Silva)
Betting odds: Germany -230, Japan +600, tie +360.
Players to watch
Germany: Jamal Musiala. The 19-year-old playmaker is racing toward stardom with his club, Bayern Munich, and with die Nationalmannschaft. A lot of people around the world believe he will take flight on the global stage this month, and for good reason. He’s got 12 goals and 10 assists for Bayern this season, many of them spectacular.
Japan: Takumi Minamino. Seven years ago, Red Bull Salzburg plucked a 20-year-old Japanese winger from Cerezo Osaka for just under $1 million. (Yes, you can add him to the list of talents Union sporting director Ernst Tanner knew about before everyone else while at Salzburg.) He wasn’t as big a deal as Salzburg contemporary Erling Haaland, but he got plenty of attention — including in two Champions League games against Liverpool.
That was enough for the English powerhouse to signed Minamino for just over $10 million in January 2020. He played some but not a ton, and went on loan to Southampton for the first half of 2021. In July, France’s Monaco gave Minamino a fresh start with a $15 million move. It hasn’t quite worked there either yet, but no one questions his talent.
No one questions this Japan team’s talent either, as it’s got players from big teams in England, Spain and Germany. Daichi Kamada seems likely to move on from Eintracht Frankfurt this summer, and doing so will make room for Paxten Aaronson to play.
But Japan got awfully unlucky in the draw. The Samurai Blue must upset Germany or Spain to get out of the group stage, and they know it likely won’t happen. At least there’s consolation in knowing they have some of the World Cup’s best jerseys: an origami-themed blue main shirt and a pink-and-green fashion item inspired by cherry blossoms and matcha tea.
» READ MORE: Paxten Aaronson joins Eintracht Frankfurt in the Union’s latest big-money deal
E1. Spain vs. E2. Costa Rica
Time: 11 a.m.
Venue: Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar
English TV/streaming: Fox29 and FoxSports.com (Ian Darke on play-by-play with analyst Landon Donovan, reporter Rodolfo Landeros and referee expert Mark Clattenburg).
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo 62, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Andrés Cantor on play-by-play with analysts Fernando Hierro and Amelia Valverde)
Betting odds: Spain -700, Costa Rica +1600, tie +650.
Players to watch
Spain: Alvaro Morata. La Roja have a dazzling array of young creators in Gavi, Pedri, Ansu Fati, Ferran Torres and Nico Williams. But Morata is the team’s only pure striker, and he’s a notoriously subpar finisher with the national team. If he can find the net in this game, it could spark Spain to a win and a momentum surge.
Costa Rica: Keylor Navas. There’s just one goalkeeper in Concacaf better than the Union’s Andre Blake, and he’s in for another big day here. Navas was at Real Madrid from 2014-19 and has been at Paris Saint-Germain since, so he knows Spain’s players well. In fact, two of them are PSG teammates: Carlos Soler and Pablo Sarabia. But Navas hasn’t played a minute for the club this season. We’ll see if that has an impact.
» READ MORE: Why Andre Blake is the most important player in Union history
F1. Belgium vs. F2. Canada
Time: 2 p.m.
Venue: Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan
English TV/streaming: Fox29 and FoxSports.com (JP Dellcamera on play-by-play with analyst Cobi Jones, reporter Geoff Shreeves and referee expert Mark Clattenburg).
Spanish TV/streaming: Telemundo 62, TelemundoDeportes.com and Peacock (Copán Alvarez on play-by-play with analysts Tab Ramos and Manuel Sol).
Betting odds: Belgium -190, Canada +500, tie +330.
Players to watch
Belgium: Kevin De Bruyne. The Red Devils’ squad is talented, deep, and out to atone for two big flubs last year. After finishing third at the 2018 World Cup, they were dumped out of the European Championship by Italy, then lost to France and Italy in the Nations League final four. It doesn’t help that the stars are getting old: De Bruyne is one of 11 players on the 26-man roster age 30 or over. But he’s still a brilliant player for his country and his club, English superpower Manchester City.
Canada: Alphonso Davies. The single best player in Concacaf right now isn’t from Mexico or the United States. He’s a lightning-quick attacking left back who was born to Liberian parents in a refugee camp in Ghana, moved to Edmonton with his family at age five, then was spotted playing soccer by scouts from the Vancouver Whitecaps. He turned pro in 2016 as a 15-year-old, and two years later Bayern Munich bought him in a deal that started at $13.5 million and rose past $20 million. The move blew the doors open for European teams to buy young MLS prospects, and the Union are one of the teams that have gained the most since then.
Now firmly entrenched as a club and country star, Davies is set lead Canada in its first men’s World Cup in 1966. He’s on his way to being as much of a household name in Canada as Christine Sinclair and the nation’s hockey greats. And he already has enough clout with Canada Soccer that he led a player strike in the summer over pay and image rights, forcing the governing body to agree a new deal.
Davies suffered a hamstring strain in early November, but Canada manager John Herdman said Tuesday that Davies is healthy and ready to start.
» READ MORE: 10 star players to watch at the World Cup